As it is in the Philippines

AS IT IS IN THE
PHILIPPINES

^EDGAR G. BELLAIR6^

THE LIBRARY

OF

THE UNIVERSITY

OF CALIFORNIA

LOS ANGELES

GIFT OF

Clark J. Milliron

Digitized by tine Internet Arciiive

in 2007 witii funding from

IVIicrosoft Corporation

littp://www.arcli ive.org/details/asitisinpliilippiOOballiala

MAJOR-GENERAL ADNA R. CHAFFEE, U. S. A.

Military Governor of the Philippines, and Commanding General,

Division of the Philippines.

AS IT IS IN

THE PHILIPPINES

CV\ar\e^ l2)o.iley\c»

vae

BT

EDGAR G. BELLAIRS ^ p^

Correspondent of the Associated Press, Cuba, 1898-1900;
China, 1900-1901: Philippines, 1901-1902

<'M.

doA'

y^i

NEW YORK

LEWIS, SCRIBNER & CO.
1902

Copyright, 190S,

BY

EDQAB G. BELLAIES.

All Rights Reserved.

DS

r6

TO THE
OFRCERS AND ENLISTED MEN

OF THE

UNITED STATES FORCES, VOLUNTEERS akd REGULARS,

WHO SERVED IN THE PHILIPPINES, WITH THE RRM

CONVICTION THAT THE VIEWS OF THE

LARGE MAJORITY

ARE EXPRESSED IN THIS VOLUMa

830870

PREFACE.

In writing the following pages, I have been im-
pressed with the fact of how little is really known
of the situation in the Philippines in America
to-day. It is now over a year since the Civil
Government assumed the reins of office, and
most of the conditions that were described in
Congress were conditions that existed under the
military regime and prior to the time when Gov-
ernor Taft and his associates assumed charge.

As the chief correspondent in the Philippines
of the Associated Press, I was probably in a bet-
ter position to get at the real facts as they ex-
isted in the provinces than anybody else in the
Archipelago; better than the civil authorities,
for they relied entirely upon the local governors ;
better than the military authorities, as their re-
ports were entirely from army officers. The
Associated Press has a number of local corre-
spondents in various parts of the Archipelago,
and the chief correspondent in Manila is kept

vi Preface.

well posted on the daily happenings throughout
the country.

The principal information must be obtained
through a lengthy stay in Manila, for as Paris
is France, so is Manila the Philippines. The seat
of government is there ; the acts of the Commis-
sion are passed there, and the comments of the
press are made there.

I am especially indebted to the Manila Times
for editorials on the labor question, the currency
and the constabulary, portions of which I have
used with slight alterations in phraseology.

Edgar G. Bellairs.

Highland Falls, N. Y.,

September, 1902.

CONTENTS.

CHAPTER I.

The Climate of the Philippines — ^Typhoons,
Earthquakes, Plague, Cholera, etc. — Governor Taft
and the Commission Take Charge — Taft's Success
before the Senate Committee — The Governorship
of the Archipelago a Magnificent Position — Taft's
Insincerity — Ability of the Commission — Civil Gov-
ernment a One-Man Rule — Native Commissioners, ii

CHAPTER n.

Civil versus Military Rule — Friction That Was
Bound to Occur — Common Sense of ChaflFee Largely
Prevented Open Rupture — The Brooks Habeas Cor-
pus Case — Victory of Military — Harmonious Solu-
tion— Improper Attitude of the Governor of Lej^e —
Grant and Gardener Hoodwinked by Wily Natives
— Harmony Will Come 24

CHAPTER III.

The Department of Public Instruction — Competent
and Incompetent Teachers — Complaint That Presi-
dentes Are Over American Teachers — Municipali-
ties Responsible for Payment of Native Teachers —
Presidente's Rake-off — Normal School in Zambales
— The Great Success of the Nautical School in
Manila — Devotion of Pupils to Lieutenant Com-
mander Knapp — Educational Prospects Bright.... 33

viii Contents.

CHAPTER IV. PA«

Commenceme'nt of Civil Government Regime —
Upheld by Newspapers and Business Men — Intro-
duction of Sedition Bill Which Becomes Law — The
"Freedom" Editorial upon Which Proprietor and
Editor Were Convicted of Sedition and Treason —
Bad Outlook for Newspapers 44

CHAPTER V.

The Customs House — Phenomenal Rise of the
Collector, W. Morgan Shuster — Postal Affairs —
Good Work Done by Auditor Lnvvshe — Excellent
Results Accomplished by the Forestry Bureau under
Captain Aheam — Some Useless Bureaus — Provincial
Governments 53

CHAPTER VI.

Municipality of Manila a Credit to Commission —
Police Force Efficient — Good Work of the Board of
Health — Bilibid Prison Becoming like an American
Penitentiary — Music on the Luneta — Sentiment Re-
garding Tearing Down of Walls 63

CHAPTER VII.

System of Courts — ^Justices of the Peace — Munici-
pal Judges — Courts of First Instance — Supreme
Court — ^Judge Odlin Rebukes Attorney General Wil-
fley — American Lawyers before the Judges — Ex-
penses of Law Suits Doubled — Native Judges and
Presidentes Unfair 73

CHAPTER VIII.
The Army in the Philippines — Its Reward Public
Ingratitude — General Wheaton Attacked — Senator
Rawlins' Attack on General Chaffee — Chaffee's Di-
plomacy— Colonel Lee's Opinion of Chaffee — General
Bell's Humane Concentration Plans — General Smith,
a Conquering Hero, Accomplished with Little Blood-
shed in Six Months What Spain Never Succeeded
in Doing — Peaceable Natives Favor Army 83

Contents. ix

CHAPTER IX. PAGK

Major Gardener's Report Asked for by the Senate
— The Report Itself — Thorough Investigation Or-
dered— Evidence Proved Report a Complete Mis-
statement of Facts — Gardener Hoodwinked by Na-
tives from Beginning to End 95

CHAPTER X.
Facts Concerning the Real Condition in the Prov-
inces by a Former Civil Treasurer of Nueva Ecija. 109

CHAPTER XI.

The Labor Problem — Filipinos Ingenious in Ma-
chinery, Skilful Workers in Cigar and Cigarette
Factories — Absolutely Unfitted for Hard Manual
Labor — Break Down Quickly Under Strain — Im-
portation of Chinese Would Benefit all Classes —
Contract Labor Law Prevents Importation of Japan-
ese or Indians — Labor Unions in America Do Not
Understand the Situation — Strikes Caused by Isa-
bella de los Reyes 152

CHAPTER XII.
The Currency Question — Governmental Salaries
Nominally Gold, Paid in Mexican Silver — Ide Re-
fuses to Make Fluctuating Ratio on the Importation
of Mexican Silver in Order to Keep the Ratio Two
for One — Prices Increased Enormously — An Iowa
Teacher's Letter to Secretary Shaw — A Well-Known
Banker's View of the Situation — A Merchant's
Views 162

CHAPTER XIII.
Religion in the Philippines — Work of the Y. M.
C. A. — Episcopal Bishop Appointed — Methodist,
Presbyterian and Christian Science Churches —
Fondness of the Filipinos for Display and Pomp —
The Filipinos Fond of Religion — Fiestas — The Friar
Question — Unnecessary Alarm — Good and Bad
among Them — In the Main a Body of Christian

X Contents.

Workers Who Have Been Responsible for Bringing
to Christianity the Filipinos as a Race 179

CHAPTER XIV.

Taft Considers Chief Success of the Commission
the Judicial System — He Thinks Pick of Filipino
Lawyers Secured for Bench — The Governor Excuses
the Sedition Law — Thought Necessary to Control
American Editors in Manila — Taft's Defense of Law
Weak — Power of the Commission and Judges Dan-
gerous to Liberty — A Military Despotism Under
Civil Officials — Filipinos Detest Foreigners — Artists
in Dissimulation 187

CHAPTER XV.

Business Outlook in the Philippines — Increase in
Number of Banks — ^Difficulties Under Which Busi-
ness Labors — Only Two American Firms Before
American Occupation — Numbers of Firms Success-
ful— A Merchant to Represent the Mercantile Inter-
ests of the Philippines When Congress Meets — Busi-
ness Men Desire Representation on the Commis-
sion— Price of Meats and Other Food — Transporta-
tion 196

CHAPTER XVI.

Social Life in the Philippines — The Clubs of
Manila — Captain Ramsey's Success with the Army
and Navy Club — Taft President of University —
Immense Growth of American Club in One Year —
To Build Magnificent Quarters — Private Entertain-
ing on a Large Scale — Chaffee Most Popular Man
in the Philippines — "The Brains of the Commission"
— Dinner Organizations — Naval Entertaining —
Women in the Tropics — ^Launch Parties 206

CHAPTER XVII.

Who Are the Filipinos? — ^Like the Natives of
Java — Some of the Facial Characteristics of the

Contents. xi

PAOX

Japanese — Not Cowards in Action — Treacherous —
Wanting in Gratitude — Untrustworthy — Ignorant —
Vicious — Immoral — Lazy — Ingenious but Tricky —
Partido Federal Really Dominates Race — Alexan-
drino, Appointed by Commission with Blood of
Americans Wet on His Hands — Katipunan Society
— Possible Solution of the Illness of Taft and
Funston 217

CHAPTER XVIII.

Constabulary and Scouts — Native Forces and the
Work They Are Doing — Active Against Ladrones —
Credit Due Captain H. T. Allen — Possible Amal-
gamation of Constabulary and Scouts into Native
Army — Commission Would Nominate Allen for
Brigadier — Will Native Forces Be Loyal in the Next
Insurrection ? — Probabilities against It — Unpleasant
Forebodings of the Future 228

CHAPTER XIX.

The Author's Views — The Utter Failure in the
Matter of Statesmanship — Governor Taft a Politi-
cian, not a Diplomat — Good Lawyer but Poor Ex-
ecutive— Credit Deserved for Minor Accomplish-
ments— Insurrection not Probable Before Five
Years 239

CHAPTER XX.

A Stranger in Manila Soon Desires to Return
Home — No Sorrow Felt at Leaving — Choice of
Routes — Author Selects Coldest — Trip by the Cana-
dian Pacific "Empress of Japan" — Hong Kong —
Shanghai — Nagasaki — Kobe — Yokohama — Vancou-
ver— Salmon Canneries — Lakes in the Clouds — Mag-
nificent Banff — Home 251

LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.

Major General Adna R. Chaffee, U. S. A. .Frontispiece

PAGE

Headquarters of the Military Governor i8

Hon. William H. Taft 36

The Escolta, Manila : 54

Hon. Luke E. Wright , 68

Changing Guard in the Rainy Season 86

Major General Lloyd Wheaton, U. S. A 100

Where General Lawton Was Killed 1 14

Hon. A. W. Fergusson 132

Moving a Shack 148

W. Morgan Shuster 166

Native Carpenters at work 174

The Caraboa 190

E. F. O'Brien 220

BUibid Prison 246

AS IT IS IN THE PHILIPPINES.

CHAPTER T.

!The Olmate of the Philippines. — Tjrphoons, Earth-
quakes, Plag-e, Cholera, etc. — Governor Taft and
the Commission Take Charge. — Taft's Success be-
fore the Senate Committee. — The Governorship of
the Archipelago a Magnificent Position. — Taft's In-
sincerity.— Ability of the Commission. — Civil Gov-
ernment a One-Man Rule. — Native Commissioners.

The Bible and all history tells us that God
made the world, and incidentally, the Philippine
Islands must have been thrown in for good meas-
ure. There are places in the world that have
worse climates, but they can be counted on the
fingers of one hand; Sierra Lecme is one, and
where the others are it would be hard to tell.
Still, the Civil Commission, with Governor Taft
at its head, with that optimism which pervades
jits every thought connected with the Philip-

12 As It Is in the Philippines.

pines, has been led to say that the Philippitffes
are as healthy as the healthiest part of America,
and they quote the death rate among Europeans
for several years back to prove their statements,
ignoring the fact that the class of Europeans that
has gone to the Philippines has not been the
laboring class or the very poor, but men who
have gone out to Manila, Iloilo, or some other
part of the Archipelago, representing large firms,
banks, or capitalists; men who, when they be-
come seriously ill, do not hesitate to take the first
steamer for Europe, and if they die through the
effects of the Philippine climate, their names do
not appear on the death register in Manila.

Governor Taft, when he became ill, imme-
diately pined for the bracing climate of his na-
tive Ohio. As soon as he was able to get out
of bed, he was placed on board the first transport
homeward bound. Commissioner Ide, as soon as
he felt under the weather, immediately left for
the mountains of Japan, where he stayed some
three or four months.

The climate of Manila and of the greater part
of the Archipelago is enervating in the extreme.
It is only necessary to see its effect on European
and American women and children who have
been there a year or longer, to recognize that
it is an impossible place for colonization.

As It Is in the Philippines. 13

Five months of the year typhoons are of fre-
quent occurrence, sometimes doing great damage.
Earthquakes frequently enliven proceedings.
The plague, cholera and all sorts of tropical
diseases invariably make their way to Manila
as soon as they appear in the East, and all the
efforts and hard labor of the health authorities
have failed to keep them out, although the city
of Manila and the other large towns have been
cleaned and purified by American methods.

The object of this volume is not to criticise
the Government, but to show the state of affairs
existing in Manila to-day, and to refrain as far
as possible from lending the coloring of individ-
ual views to the subject, certainly so far as to
w)hether the United States of America was wise,
in the first instance, in acquiring the islands, and,
in the second place, now that phe has them,
whether it is wise to retain them.

It is unnecessary to reiterate the story of the
destruction of the Spanish fleet and the practical
capture of Manila by Admiral Dewey, the land-
ing of General Merritt, or even the military gov-
ernment presided over by General Otis, and after-
wards by General MacArthur, but beginning from
the time when Governor Taft assumed the reins
of civil government and General Chaffee became
Division Commander with the rank of Military

14 As It Is in the Philippines.

Grovemor, exercising authority over those prov-
inces that the civil government admitted not to be
pacified, though, at any time, it was within the
power of the civil authorities to declare a prov-
ince pacified and to take over its control.

Governor Taft had been several months in
the Philippines as the head of the Commission
when he was called upon to assume the reins
of government, at the time when President Mc-
Kinley's instructions were to establish a civil
government in the Archipelago. He was barely
four months Governor before he was stricken
with sickness that afterwards compelled him to
go home, leaving the reins of government with
Acting Governor Wright.

Anybody who has met Governor Taft knows
him to be a smiling, courteous, suave gentleman,
greeting one with a cordial handshake and cheery
words, making the caller think he is the one in-
dividual that the Governor has been anxious to
meet, and one generally leaves his presence "on
very good terms with oneself." To any one who
has read the evidence of Governor Taft before
the Senate Committee, or at all events to any one
familiar with the Philippines, he is stamped as
a politician of the first water, and not a single
Senator was able to succeed in getting out of
Governor Taft anything he did not wish to ap-

As It Is in the Philippines. 15

pear. No one, it may be said safely, more deeply
regretted than Governor Taft that the Gardener
report was called for by the Committee, as no
one knew better than he that, although the report
claimed that the civil government was an un-
qualified and unbounded success in the Province
of Tayabas, in reality but a cursory investigation
would have shown that at the time when the re-
port was wiritten it was a hot-bed of insurrection
and discontent. At the time when Major Gar-
dener, as civil Governor, traveling from town to
town, was received with acclaim by the multitude,
while brass bands thundered forth the "Star
Spangled Banner," the insurgent General in com-
mand usually knew every movement of the Gov-
ernor, and if he visited the same place the next
day was received in an even more enthusiastic
manner than was Gardener the day before, and
Gardener did not even hear of his having been in
the neighborhood.

Governor Taft is an able lawyer, but wdthout
the highest grade of executive ability; at least
if he has it, it has not been developed in the
Philippines. A large number of bureaus have
been established, some apparently for the purpose
of making salaried positions. The Governor-
ship of the Philippine Islands is an important

16 As It Is in the Philippines.

and desirable position, a position that any man
might well be proud to occupy, with a magnifi-
cent palace to live in and an income of twenty
thousand dollars a year, a police guard over his
house. Government yachts at his disposal, and the
cringing, smiling fear of some few millions of
natives, which is regarded by the members of
the Commission as an expression of love for
themselves.

From a social point of view, the Governor fills
the position admirably, and the majority of Amer-
icans in the Philippines who have come in con-
tact with him admit that he is a most agreeable
man, even if his promises or his sincerity are not
certain to be real. Just as Governor Taft was
about to leave for America on the transport, and
as the different people who had come on board
to bid him good-by were leaving the ship, Gov-
ernor Taft shook hands with a member of the
Municipal Board, and in his cheery way wished
him well and hoped to find him in the same posi-
tion or a better one when he returned from the
United States. Governor Taft himself, only two
days before, had arranged with Acting Governor
Wright that this man's resignation was to be
asked for, and his successor had already been ap-
proached on the subject of accepting the position.
It is barely possible that Governor Taft may have

As It Is in the Philippines. 17

overlooked a little thing like a $4,500 a year
position, and had forgotten that this had been
arranged, but it is hardly probable, as for some
time previously it had been his intention to ask
for the resignation, the man apparently not being
in accord with the Commission, having some
ideas of his own as to the government of a big
city, instead of acting as directed by the Commis-
sion, or, in other w'ords, Governor Taft,

A few weeks after the arrival of the author
in the Philippines, he received a letter from a
newspaper friend who urged him to be very
careful in dealing with Governor Taft, for the
writer had seen letters in which Taft had urged
that influence be used to remove a certain cor-
respondent from the Philippines, as he was too
young, and had too many friends among military
men ; while all the time to the man in question, he
was saying that when the time came for him
to leave he did not know what the Commission
would do, and when he did leave, gave him a
letter containing most glowing tributes to his
personality and the work he had done.

Acting Governor Luke E. Wright is a type of
man very different from Governor Taft. He is
a typical Southern gentleman in all that the best
sense of that much used term implies, a man
whom it is a pleasure to meet and to do business

18 As It Is in the Philippines/

with. He has a dignified, courteous manner, and
whether in his office or in his home will invariably
make his caller at ease. Next to General Chaf-
fee, probably Governor Wright has been the most
popular American who has been in the Philippine
Islands. While it seems hard to say so of a man
for whom one has the most unbounded respect
and admiration, he certainly did not make an
unqualified success of his administration as the
Acting Governor of the Philippine Islands.
Several of the questions that came up seemed to
swamp him along with the rest of the Commis-
sion, and left them floundering in deep water try-
ing to touch bottom. In fact, after Governor
Taft's departure, the Acting Governor and his
colleagues seemed to be in the position defined by
a well-known lady in Manila, who is not a great
admirer of the civil rule. "The Commission,"
she said, "reminds me of a chicken that has had
its head cut off, and has been thrown on the
ground, where it flops around in all directions be-
fore it finally expires."

Commissioner Bernard Moses was a college
professor when he was elevated to the dignity
of a commissionership, and the right to a special
police guard over his house, like the rest of the
Commissioners In the pacified City of Manila,
and from all accounts by graduates from the Uni-

As It Is in the Philippines. 19

versity of California, with which he was con-
nected, he was an admirable college professor,
and it seems a pity that the profession of teach-
ing should have been robbed even temporarily
of such a valuable member in order to make a
poor commissioner. He tried hard to earn the
$15,000 which is the pay of the Commissioners,
but it is evident that at times he must have had
the idea which ninety percent of the Americans
5n the Philippines had, that he was a sort of fifth
wheel to the coach *

Commissioner Ide wlas at one time a school
teacher and afterwards a lawyer and judge. He
is a man of very dignified personality, and from
that point of view lends a great deal of pres-
tige to the Commission. He is one of those
who most praise the climate of Manila and is
the first to leave on the approach of sickness,
infinitely preferring the hills, chrysanthemums
and cherry blossoms of Japan to the miasma and
the dengue fever of the Philippines.

Last but not least among the American Com-
missioners is the Hon. Dean Worcester. The Hon.
Dean Worcester is a character, and what he
does not know about the vertebrae of a butter-
fly, the habits of an ant or the breeding of a
rooster is not worth knowing. He is also an
expert on automobiles, but whether that con-

*Since the above was written Professor Moses has
resigned from the Commission.

20 As It Is in the Philippines.

Btitutes him as exactly the man for a Civil

Commissioner at $15,000 per annum is to be

doubted.

■ The following is a stenographic report of part

of a conversation at one of the regular meet-

,ings of the Commission:

"The derivation of this word is extremely
.difficult," began Professor Moses. "I have no-
ticed it in the old Saxon statutes," interrupted
Judge Ide. "It would make a good name for
an automobile or a pet rooster," suggested Com-
missioner Worcester. Governor Wright: "Mr.
Ferguson, please translate these remarks for the
benefit of Commissioners Legarda and Tavera."

It seems to be the general opinion among the
Americans in the Philippines that the civil gov-
ernment was meant to be practically a one-man
government under the direction of the President
and Secretary of War, but to have one man in
absolute charge would savor too much of mili-
tarism, so that first of all a strong, able man
was found in the person of Governor Taft, a
man who would carry out to the letter the ideas
laid down in Washington, while it was neces-
sary" to secure as his associates some men of
ability, against whom no possible objection could
be urged, men of pure and irreproachable char-
acter and with honorable records, men whose

As It Is in the Philippines. 21

views were not antagonistic to the administra-
tion on the Philippine question as laid down
for the Commission, and that this was the rea-
son for the selection of such men as Luke E.
Wright, Dean Worcester, H. C. Ide and Bernard
Moses.

Governor Taft was just such a man as was
needed to dominate absolutely such a body of
men, and it is doubtful if any of them ever
dissented from the Governor on an important
question. The members of the Commission are
honorable men. They stand well in their own
communities and before the country, but they
have not shown that ability for the management
of affairs in the Philippines, which should en-
title them to be considered good administrators,
their handling of the financial question alone
stamping them as incapable. Compare the Gov-
ernment of the Philippine Archipelago for twelve
months by Governor Taft and his associates, with
an equal length of time in Cuba under General
Wood. The difference is as great as it is be-
tween the Government of Turkey and the Gov-
ernment of the United States. In Cuba,
although a nominal military head with
a Cuban Cabinet, there was in reality a
Cfvil regime, though under a military governor.

On the other hand, in the Philippines, the

22 As It Is in the Philippines.

regime has been, although nominally civil, a mili-
tary, rather than a civil administration. Per-
haps the best definition of civil government in
the Philippine Islands was given by a gentle-
man at an amatuer vaudeville performance at
one of the clubs in Manila last winter, when he
described it in a monologue on diplomacy as
"The Civil Bureau of the Military Government
of the Philippine Islands with headquarters in
the War Department, at Washington, D. C, un-
der the war power of the President."

There are three native Commissioners, Tavera,
Legarda and Luzzuriaga, who were appointed
apparently not so much for any particular work
as possibly for a sort of sop to the Filipinos.
The two former at present occupy most of their
time in libel suits against papers that have ac-
cused them of infamous acts before the American
rule. The Spanish editor of "Miau" was sentenced
to a fine of several hundred dollars and exile from
Manila, at least fifty miles, for six months. On
the other hand, the American editor of the "Free-
dom" for merely printing the evidence that was
given in open court in the "Miau" case was sen-
tenced to six months' imprisonment and $i,ooo
fine. It is treason and sedition in the Philip-
pines to utter a word against the Commission.

As It Is in the Philippines. 23

As a former high military officer in the Philip-
pines said to me recently: "In our time the
Americans in the Philippines thought that they
were being chastised with rods ; under civil rule
they apparently are getting it with scorpions."

CHAPTER II.

Civil versus Military Rule. — Friction That Was Bound
to Occur. — Common Sense of Chaffee Largely Pre-
vented Open Rupture. — The Brooks Habeas Cor-
pus Case. — Victory of Military. — Harmonious Solu-
tion.— Improper Attitude of the Governor of Leyte.
— Grant and Gardener Hoodwinked by Wily Na-
tives.— Harmony Will Come.

When first the civil government was estab-
lished, the very natural differences that were cer-
tain to arise, began to take place throughout
the Archipelago between the outgoing military
officers and the incoming civil authorities.
It would have been much better, if it had been
possible, to have removed every army officer from
the place where he had been in command to
some other place where he was a stranger. The
man who gave up the reins of power, frequently
turned them over to some man he had known, and
for whom he had a certain amount of contempt,

As It Is in the Philippines. 25

both as to experience and ability, and as to his
educational attainments. It was certain that there
would be a conflict of authority sooner or later.
The man who had been accustomed to authority
and control naturally was appealed to frequently
by the natives to decide some point. Sometimes,
without thinking that he might be encroaching
on the province of the new regime, he adjusted
these disputes, thus innocently infringing on the
rights of the Civil Commission. On the other
hand, every such infringement had the effect of
irritating the civil authorities, and in consequence
caused many appeals to Manila. Of course, as
soon as the case was referred by Governor Taft
or afterwards by Acting Governor Wright to
General Chaffee, the officer in question invariably
got orders to confine himself absolutely and en-
tirely to military affairs and it was very certain
that the same officer had not again to be reproved
for the same offense.

Such cases came up day after day with the
greatest regularity at the commencement of the
civil rule, leading the majority of the civilians
in Manila and even in the provinces to believe
that there was an organized attempt on the part
cf the military to belittle the civil authorities,
and in consequence a considerable amount of an-
tagonism was aroused, and in many instances

26 As It Is in the Philippines.

a feeling of dislike was engendered between men
who, on other occasions, would have been very
good friends. It also had the effect of making
the civil officials very harsh in their judgment of
even the slightest misdeed of a soldier. A single
soldier drunk on Beno would be regarded as an
excuse for a general attack on the army, as a
lot of drunken, worthless scoundrels whose main
occupation in life was to worry the civil author-
ities.

Had the civil authorities recognized the fact
that what had occurred at the commencement
was a logical sequence of the transfer of author-
ity where the civil and military functions were
not clearly defined, all would have been well, but
instead of doing this, they acted, as a rule, when
finding themselves sustained, with haughty ar-
rogance and insufferable conceit, frequently an-
tagonizing the natives against the army and send-
ing around, for signature, petitions condemning
the army and lauding the civil rule, although
the natives had not even realized that any change
had taken place beyond the fact that some other
American had supplanted the one previously in
power.

In Manila, General Chaffee in every possible
way subordinated the military to the civil govern-
ment, frequently, in the opinion of some of the

As It Is in the Philippines. 27

highest ranking officers in the Archipelago, going
beyond what they considered right or what they
thought was required by the President and the
Secretary of War. On only one occasion was
there any serious conflict of authority, and in
this case. General Chaffee was so unquestionably
right that, with a desire to uphold the civil au-
thorities, the Administration in Washington had
to tell Governor Taft that he was in the wrong
and to instruct both the civil and the military
Governors to come to some harmonious solution
of the question.

The case in question was that of a man named
Brooks, who was discharged by favor from the
army to accept a position under the military gov-
ernment under the Adjutant General, agreeing,
in consideration of his discharge, to serve the
Government at a stated rate of pay for twt) years,
which gave him five or six times as much as he
was receiving as a soldier for the same work.
Brooks got an offer from some firm in Manila
very shortly after his discharge, which paid him
a little more than he was getting from the mili-
tary. He left his position, and his arrest by the
military authorities followed. General Chaffee
decided not to try the man by court martial but
simply to put him on a transport and deport him
home, considering that sufficient punishment. A

28 As It Is in the Philippines.

lawyer took the case up on behalf of Brooks and
applied to a Supreme Court judge for a writ of
habeas corpus. The Sheriff presented the writ
to General McKibben, the commander of the post
of Manila, who took it to General Chaffee ; after
a conference it was decided that Brooks should
be brought ashore from the transport, but that
he should not be presented in court. General
McKibben and Colonel Grosbeck, the Judge Ad-
vocate General, answered the writ.

The claim put forward by the Judge Advocate
was that Brooks was a military prisoner, and
as such subject to the military, who did not
recognize the right of the Court, as constituted,
to issue a writ of habeas corpus for such a per-
son. No court in the United States has any such
power excepting Federal Courts, and as the Su-
preme Court of the Philippines had not been
vested with any such authority, either by Con-
gress or through the military power of the Presi-
dent, the man would not be produced.

The Commission naturally was indignant at
the action of the military authority in this case,
and the wires were kept busy between Manila and
Washington on the question as to the right of
the matter. Members of the Commission talked
to representatives of the press, and expressed
themselves very strongly, which made a harmoni-

As It Is in the Philippines. 29

ous solution difficult, but it was well-known that
the victory was completely with the army. The
Governor and General Chaffee had frequent con-
sultations and it was finally decided to define the
exact relations concerning matters between the
civil and the military. General Chaffee agreed
to produce Brooks, to use a Chinese expression,
"to save the face of the civil authorities," and the
Governor agreed that in future, in any case where
a writ of habeas corpus was issued for a military
prisoner the Judge Advocate General appearing
in court and stating that the individual was a
military prisoner, would be sufficient answer and
the rights of the Military would be respected.

Perhaps one of the worst features of the civil
versus military dispute was the attitude of the
Governor of Leyte, adjoining the Island of Sa-
mar, who persisted in maintaining that his dis-
trict was absolutely pacified and quiet notwith-
standing the well established fact that it was a
hot-bed of insurrection and a camp and resting
place for the Insurrectos of Samar, but a stone's
throw away.

After seeing their mutilated dead at Balangigi
and the dreadful atrocities perpetrated on the
dead bodies; after having seen numberless acts
of treachery in other parts of Samar, it was
no wonder that the temper of the American

30 As It Is in the Philippines.

soldiers, both officers and privates, brooked but
little interference on the part of the civil au-
thorities in Leyte, for they knew that not only
was it the abiding place of a population, ninety-
five percent of whom were antagonistic to Amer-
ican rule, but that a large number were actually
engaged in furnishing supplies and even arms
to their comrades in the Island of Samar, and
also that the Insurrectos of Samar were making
the Province of Leyte a resting place and recu-
perating post.

Governor Grant of Leyte, for some reason
best known to himself, refused to admit the pal-
pable situation in his province, and sent glowing
reports of the loyalty and good feeling of the
natives. It is more than probable that he was
largely hoodwinked by the natives who sur-
rounded him, and who gave him the information
that they knew would please him. It was this
sort of information that was given to Governor
Gardener, of Tayabas, by the native officials, all
of whom, it was afterwards proved, were giving
information to the insurgents. They assured
Major Gardener that not an Tnsurrecto was left
in the province, while the testimony afterwards
given by two of the insurgent Generals, proved
that Tayabas at that time was the best disciplined
and most loyal of any province to the Insur-

As It Is in the Philippines. 31

rection. Governor Grant did not have the same
excuse as did Governor Gardener. However, the
fact was evident that the natives of Leyte were
disloyal from the number of murders of Amer-
icans and Americanistas.

It will probably be some time before absolutely
and completely harmonious relations exist be-
tween the civil and the military authorities all
over the Archipelago. The civil officials will not
soon forget what they look upon as the con-
tempt of the army officers for themselves and
their positions, while the army officers will cer-
tainly feel the suspicion of enmity in the air and
are not likely to go far out of their way to
bring matters to a more harmonious understand-
ing, and consequently very little communication,
for the present, will take place between them.
But eventually, as men are changed about, both
in civil and military positions, the situa-
tion will develop a feeling, where mutual com-
mon sense will bring those living in close prox-
imity to a better understanding, both working
for the same end, the uplifting of the Philip-
pines and the credit of the United States of
America.

In Manila, to General Chaffee, and largely to
General Chaffee alone, is due the credit that
serious friction has not occurred, as he has gone

32 As It Is in the Philippines.

out of his way on many occasions, not only by
actions but by words, to prove his complete sin-
cerity in subordinating the military to the civil.
Few men could have succeeded as admirably as
he has done, not only in gaining the confidence of
the members of the Commission who imagine
that they see an insult in every act or word of
the military, but also, by his own example, and
by his orders to leading officers of the army to act
in complete accord with the civil authorities with
whom they come in contact.

CHAPTER III.

The Department of Public Instruction. — Competent and
Incompetent Teachers. — Complaints that Presidentes
Are over American Teachers. — Municipalities Re-
sponsible for Payment of Native Teachers. — Presi-
dente's Rake-oflF. — Normal School in Zambales. —
The Great Success of the Nautical School in Manila.
— Devotion of Pupils to Lieutenant Commander
Knapp. — Educational Prospects Bright

The Department of Public Instruction, under
the direction of Dr. F. W. Atkinson, has made
an admirable attempt to Americanize and civ-
ilize the Islands by means of the teaching of
the English language to all the children and to
those of their elders who wish to learn it.

This was a most excellent idea, and no one was
probably better fitted than was Dr. Atkinson for
the carrying out of this plan. One thousand
teachers were brought from the United States
on Government transports. Most of them as-
serted that they did not come for the salary, but
as educational missionaries to elevate the Fili-

34 As It Is in the Philippines.

pinos to the level of the civilized and educated.
A very large proportion of these teachers were
earnest, willing, efficient and kind men and wom-
en who have endeavored conscientiously to do
their duty and carry out their original idea. On
the other hand, there were some who came out
tinder contract as teachers, but with no inten-
tion whatever of remaining in their ranks. They
are on the outlook for business opportunities or
for any means whereby money can be made.
Many of them have found nothing else to do and
have continued as teachers and have brought
more or less discredit on the entire organization,
which is very unfair, for the work which has been
accomplished as a whole has been excellent.

The Educational Department unfortunately
was organized in rather a loose manner under
Law No. 74, which compels the defeat of many
of the objects striven for. Education was not
made compulsory. American teachers were not
given enough power. They were only special
teachers of English and in many cases the native
teacher, with but a slight smattering of read-
ing and writing, was the real head of the school.
Another of the principal complaints was that
the American teacher was subordinated to the
native Presidente or Mayor of the town where
the teacher was stationed. It is difficult, how-

As It Is in the Philippines. 35

ever, to see how the Commission could have made
any other rule. In addition the act provided that
municipalities should sustain schools but fixed
no penalty for noncompliance.

The islands were divided into several divi-
sions, some twenty in all, each of which had a
superintendent. With the exception of three
temporary superintendents who were appointed
from the army, soon rejoining that service, these
$uperintendents were all men from the United
States, and almost without exception unable to
speak Spanish, much less the local vernacular.
This was a great hindrance to them and the
teachers were in the same position. The super-
intendents were also given power to appoint na-
tive teachers and to fix their salaries, but the
towns were to pay each teacher, with no penalty
for non-payment. It is easy to see that the native
teachers have generally received what the local
town council saw fit to pay. The rake-off to
the Presidente is generally ten percent. A na-
tive school board, usually worthless for work,
was also ordered for each town.

Under the Spanish law of 1892, the native
teachers received their pay from the province
in which they were stationed. Considering the
higher prices of everything at present, it was a
better arrangement than the local town system.

36 As It Is in the Philippines.

The schools have not been attended by the chil-
dren of the lower classes as much as was ex-
pected, mainly from the fact that the higher
classes rule and advise them as much as in Span-
ish days and it can be said that until Americans
learn the native tongue, so that they can talk
to the lower classes freely, just so long will
the belauded self-government they enjoy to-day
be the narrow and selfish rule of a Malay oli-
garchy, founded not on nobility or education, but
merely upon wealth, arrogance and snobbishness.

The oligarchy can and does communicate by
means of Spanish all over the islands. The poor
class does not read or write its own dialects, but
under the law this poor class has no share in
the government of the schools; neither has the
resident American. It has been handed over to
the Tagalog or Bicol or Visayan or Ilocano
"principal" who in ninety-five cases out of a hun-
dred is an insurgent at heart, and who is rivet-
ing the chains still tighter upon the lower classes.
It is safe to say that one hundred and twenty-
five men with their fifteen hundred retainers
control the movements, work, ideas and destinies
of all the members of the so-called Qiristian
tribes. And the policy pursued is not loosening
their grasp but is helping to increase its strength.

Details have not been worked out as finely as

HON. WILLIAM H. TAFT.
Governor of the Philippines.

As It Is in the Philippines. 37

they might or should have been in school matters,
and a true esprit de corps can hardly be said to
exist. Teachers have been sent to remote towns
to do work without adequate encouragement
or support. Formal circulars a month old are
not very sustaining even as far as they go.

Dr. Atkinson has been indefatigable in his ef-
forts, and Normal Schools were established in the
summer in several places, though cholera unfor-
tunately interfered in some. As an instance of
the success that has attended these schools, the
following letter from a teacher from Iba, Zam-
bales, under date of June 25th, will probably
give as good an idea of the work as anything
that could be written at present on the subject :

"The first school opening in Zambales province
took place at Iba, on i6th June. The work
is well organized and is running smoothly, and
shows plainly that the principal, Departmental
Superintendent C. E. Putnam, has done some
hard work and earnest thinking along the right
lines. The school has many excellent features
and cannot but help the earnest young people
mentally and morally, now and through the com-
ing years. There is a pleasing atmosphere of
comradeship and helpfulness about the work, es-
pecially during the hours of study and opening

38 As It Is in the Philippines.

exercises. In the morning all the pupils and
teachers meet together in an assembly hall made
by driping the partition between two of the
school rooms. Songs are sung by the school and
an informal talk given by some of the American
teachers. The first morning, Governor Poten-
ciano Lesaca welcomed all with a pleasing ad-
dress in which he told the pupils of the great
educational plan and of the advantages to be de-
rived from this normal school work. He was fol-
lowed by Don Juan Manday, Provincial Fiscal,
who also congratulated the students upon the edu-
cational advantages they were about to enjoy.

"There are more than two hundred and thirty-
eight pupils representing the towns of Bolinao,
Alaminos, Agno, Dasol, Santa Cruz, Masinloc,
Candelaria, Palawig, Iba, Botolan, Boni, Caban-
gan, San Felipe, San Antonio, San Mar-
celino Castillejos, Subig and Olongapo. Out-
side of Iba, the largest delegations come from
San Marcelino, San Narciso Agno and Botolan.
Throughout the Province, in towns where Amer-
ican teachers have been stationed, the advance-
ment of both native teachers and pupils is very
apparent.

"So much has been accomplished by the few
teachers who have worked in this province, that
it is greatly regretted that there are not enough

As It Is in the Philippines. 39

American teachers for every deserving town to
have one. The schedule of work includes the
ordinary school curriculum, as well as music and
free hand drawing. The music is under the di-
rection of Miss Kelshaw, and the young people
seem to be thoroughly enjoying it. The classes
are held in a chapel a short distance from the
school building, where scholars sing to their
heart's content without interfering with their les-
sons. A comfortable new six-room building was
opened for the Normal School, and to have this
building completed in time, the people have
worked hard. They may be justly proud of their
efforts, for they now have the finest building in
the Province, well lighted, fitted with American
desks, together with a good supply of black-
boards.

"A feature of the normal work that is designed
to be especially helpful to the native teachers,
is a model class of children between the ages
of ten and twelve, conducted as much as possible
on the principles of an American school. Here
the native teachers are sent to observe and ab-
sorb as much as possible of the true spirit and
atmosphere of an American school room.

"The work along all lines has commenced in
a satisfactory manner. Both teachers and pupils
seem thoroughly in earnest and the school prom-

40 As It Is in the Philippines.

ises to be very successful. A flag raising has
been planned to take place on the Fourth of July,
when suitable exercises, accompanied by songs
appropriate for the occasion, will be rendered.
The different towns in this district will be repre-
sented."

Probably one of the most useful acquisitions
that has descended from Spain as a legacy
to the American administration is the Nautical
School, which was under the direction first of
Lieutenant Commander V. L. Cottman, U.S.N.,
and later, since April, 1901, of Lieutenant Com-
mander John J. Knapp, U.S.N. This school has
made great improvements, and is a credit not
only to the two gentlemen who have managed it
from the time when it became an American in-
stitution to the present, but also to the Educa-
tional Department and to the Commission itself.

During Spanish times, the school was located
in the Walled City, but when it was reopened by
the Americans, quarters were assigned in Calle
Santa Elena, Quartel Meisic, where the school is
at present located. All instruction, except that
in English, was in the Spanish language. At
present all instruction is in English. This change
was made by Lieutenant Commander Knapp, as
soon as he took charge, and its success has

As It Is in the Philippines. 41

been absolute and complete. There are no Filipino
boys speaking better English than those who have
been at the Nautical School. On the occasion of
the graduating exercises last spring, addresses in
the English language were admirably made by
several of the pupils, astonishing even those who
had the greatest confidence in the development
of the Filipinos by education.

The corps of instructors assisting the Superin-
tendent now consists of four American teachers
and one of the former native teachers. The
latter's services will be dispensed with, as soon as
another officer of the Navy can be detailed as
an instructor in technical branches.

With the change in the method of instruction,
has also come a change in the subjects of in-
struction. The course is being developed as rap-
idly as practicable to correspond with that of
the United States Naval Academy, at Annapolis,,
with the exception of the military training, which
it is not deemed advisable to institute at present.

Owing to a lack of .primary instruction in the
Islands, the nautical cadets, when they begin
their course, are very poorly grounded in the
subjects of primary education. This has made
it necessary to crowd into four years, everything
from the beginning of arithmetic, to plane and
spherical trigonometry. What is true of the

42 As It Is in the Philippines.

course of mathematics, applies equally to other
branches. Not only has the lack of primary
training been an obstacle, but it has also been
necessary to overcome the effects of the former
bad system of training. This is particularly the
case in mathematics, in which study the method
has been that of memorizing, rather than of rea-
soning. In spite of these obstacles, success has
been achieved, and the graduates of the past
year read and speak English with a fair degree
of fluency, and accredit themselves well in
their navigation work, theoretically as well as
practically.

Though it has been desired to give these young
men a technical education, the principal aim has
been to imbue them with American ideas, and as
the school draws its pupils from the various parts
of the Islands, it is believed that this effort to
Americanize the pupils will have an effect gen-
erally throughout the Islands.

To achieve the best results, the school should
have more ample quarters, where the students
could be housed and fed, where machine shops,
gymnasiums, laboratories and quarters could
be located. At present, the cadets are living
in various places about Manila, and the school
has little control of their personal habits or their
studies when away from the school itself.

Recommendations embodying these ideas, have

As It Is in thd Philippines. 43

been made by Lieutenant Commander Knapp,
and are being considered at the present time
by the Department of Education.

There is also urgent need of a training ship.
The only practical work the cadets get in sea-
manship now, is that afforded by a mast, yards,
and accompanying sails rigged in the yard of
the school building.

I have talked with many of the boys of the
Nautical School, and have been astonished to
find the extreme loyalty and devotion with which
they regard their Superintendent, Lieutenant
Commander J. J. Knapp, U.S.N., whose work
has been admirable in the extreme. When
the day comes for him to take his departure,
his place will be very hard to fill.

The future of education in the Philippines
looks bright, especially if some changes were to
be made, such as giving the native teachers a
certain length of time in which to graduate and
pass a standard of education, of which English
should be the most important feature, as the lan-
guage of the Orient, through China, Japan and
practically everywhere, for business purposes, is
English. The great majority of the natives of
the Philippines do not even understand
Spanish, their own dialect being all they
can speak. It is impossible, under such circum-
stances, to have a united country.

44 As It Is in the Philippines.

CHAPTER IV.

Commencement of Civil Government Regime. — Upheld
by Newspapers and Business Men. — Introduction of
Sedition Bill Which Becomes Law. — The "Free-
dom" Editorial upon Which Proprietor and Editor
Were Convicted of Sedition and Treason. — Bad
Outlook for Newspapers.

In the early days of the civil government
regime, the American newspapers and business
men of Manila, were unanimously in favor of
the change, but to-day there is not a paper but
would prefer all the restrictions that were placed
upon them by Generals Otis and MacArthur, to
the laws that have been passed to squelch them by
the Civil Commission — laws that are interpreted
by Judges who hold their offices through the
grace of and by the will of the Commission
alone. Not even the purely American cases are
given a trial by jury.

The Commission, from the first, seems to have
gone out of its way to antagonize and belittle
the local press, all of whom were in favor of

As It Is in the Philippines. 45

it at the commencement. It would have required
very little tact and judgment on the part of the
Commission to have retained that loyalty.

Criticisms became frequent and common, and
finally the Commission decided that libel laws
did not cover the situation, that there was noth-
ing in any existing libel law that could punish
an editor for criticising or daring to assume that
the members of the Commission, either indi-
vidually or collectively, were not paragons of ad-
ministrative excellence. Consequently a Sedition
Bill was hastily prepared and hurriedly rushed
through and made law. The main parts of the
law were taken from old statutes of American
states, to all intents and purposes obsolete, and
the mere fact that such a law had to be passed
proved the utter incapacity of the Commission.
No more conclusive evidence could be required
of what a slender thread the Commission hung
by with the Philippine people, than their claim
that it was necessary to charge the "Freedom"
with Sedition for publishing in an editorial, on
Sunday, April 6th, the following:

A FEW HARD FACTS.

Sidney Adamson, in a late letter in Leslie's
Weekly has the following to say of the action
of the Civil Commission, in appointing rascally
natives to important government positions:

46 As It Is in the Philippines.

"It is a strong thing to say, but nevertheless
true, that the Civil Commission, through its ex-
insurgent office-holders, and by its continual dis-
regard for the records of natives obtained dur-
ing the military rule of the islands, has, in its
distribution of offices, constituted a protectorate
over a set of men who should be in jail or de-
ported. . . . Tecson, ex-presidente of San
Pablo, was removed from his position for his
double dealing. Among other crimes he had a
great many of the rich residents arrested on
charges of complicity with the insurgents. One
by one, he complained to the commanding officer
that he had been mistaken, until they were all
set free. It was afterwards discovered that he
obtained $100.00 a head to obtain their release.
The Civil Commission returned him to the town
recently as a justice of the peace. This is the
kind of foolish work that the Commission is do-
ing over the island, reinstating insurgents and
rogues, and turning down the men who have
during the struggle at the risk of their lives, aided
the Americans."

These are serious charges which are made
against the civil government but the most serious
part of the matter is that there is good reason
to believe for the most part, that the charges are
true. This is one of the grertest weapons which
the Civil Commission has furnished to be used
ao-ainst itself. There is no doubt but that the
Filipino office-holders of the Islands are in a good
many instances rascals. The Federal Party,
which claims to be the true friend of the Amer-
icans, has time and time again been accused of

As It Is in the Philippines. 47

double dealing. The Commission has exalted to
the highest positions in the Islands Filipinos who
are alleged to be notoriously corrupt and ras-
cally, and men of no personal character, and in
other instances has depended for its information
upon the alleged hypocrites who obsequiously
furnished the greatest number of triumphal
arches, and bands of music to greet the visiting
gubernatorial party.

Editor Valdez, of "Miau," made serious
charges against two of the native commissioners,
and if those against Pardo de Tavera, were true,
they would brand the man as a coward and a
rascal, and with what result? Was any effort
made to disprove the charges ; was de Tavera
asked to vindicate himself, or did the Commis-
sion do anything to vindicate itself from having
appointed a man, with charges of this sort against
him, to the highest position in the gift of the
Commission, at a greater annual salary than that
paid to the vice-president of the United States?
As far as is known. No! However, the native
commissioners, claiming that they were libelled
(under a law which specifies that the greater
the truth the greater the libel), entered suit
against the alleged writer of the articles, Seiior
Valdez, and on one charge alone he has been
found guilty and sentenced to a fine of eight
hundred pesos. And the beautiful part of it is —
think of it, Americans in the United States ! — that
the trial under Spanish law was no more than
a travesty of justice from an American stand-
point and could no more have taken place in
America than it could have in the moon. The

48 As It Is in the Philippines.

defense were not allowed to prove the truth of
the allegations, which they were willing and
anxious to do. Is this Americanism? Is this
the form of justice that the people of the United
States desire should prevail in the Philippines?
Is it the desire of the people of the United
States that the natives against whom these
charges have been made (which, if true, abso-
lutely villi fy their personal characters) be per-
mitted to retain their seats on the Civil Commis-
sion, the executive body of the Philippines gov-
ernment, without an investigation?

Outside of the "Miau" incident, many other
charges have also been made ; it is a notorious
fact that many branches of the government or-
ganized by the Civil Commission are rotten, and
corrupt. The fiscal system, upon which life,
liberty, and justice depends, is admitted by the
Attorney-General himself to be most unsatis-
factory. It is a fact that the Philippine judiciary
is far from being what it should. Neither fiscals
nor judges can be persuaded to convict insur-
gents when they wish to protect them, and it is
not strange that this condition of affairs should
exist. The whole truth of the matter is that the
Civil Commission have done too much work.
They have established a government here for
which the Filipinos will not be capable for years,
and, realizing their mistake, they are attempting
to strengthen the vital points to a sufficient ex-
tent to save the destruction of the system through
its own imperfections. This is a sign of possible
regeneration.

The Civil Commission have a very hard task

As It Is in the Philippines. 49

before them. In their position they are open to
criticism from all, and must realize that it is im-
possible to please all. It is to be feared, how-
ever, that the Commission, realizing this fact, has
determined to go ahead and please itself without
reference to any one else. It would seem, in the
matter of industrial taxation, the currency and
the many others that have come up from time
to time, that the Commission has done exactly
the opposite of what was desired by the major-
ity of the interests of the islands. The evils of
its policy have been realized and have fallen
upon those who have had no remedy. It is a
significant fact, that, although as a natural con-
sequence, newspapers would support the govern-
ment, the Civil Commission has been unable to
find an organ among the reputable papers of
Manila, and that every correspondent who has
visited the islands has constituted himself a par-
tisan against the civil government. These facts
are significant, Messrs. Commissioners; they
mean that there is something wrong somewhere ;
they mean that you have made fatal mistakes, and
that the results of your optimism have not been
suiSicient to warrant it.

There is not a newspaper in the Philippine
Islands but prefers civil government to military
government. When you started off on that mem-
orable 7th of July, with a flourish of trumpets
and a waving of banners, we were all with you.
Since then we have dropped by the wayside one
by one, according to the amount of courage which
accompanied our convictions. Some of us still
attempt to stand by you because of certain com-

50 As It Is in the Philippines.

mercial reasons, demonstrated by advertising"
patronage, but these make the most ludicrous at-
tempts to reconcile the truth with their editorial
policies, and often find direct contradictions in
the same issue. Press agents for the civil gov-
ernment would succeed in convincing the news-
papers of Manila that everything was lovely if
it was not for the reports from the Provinces to
the contrary. Only a short time ago the editor
of "Freedom" had a long interview with an officer
of the constabulary, who attempted to point out
the peaceful conditions existing in Tayabas, and
to emphasize his statements, pointed out the sit-
uation with the aid of a map. This officer had
just returned from Tayabas. Now we hear all
sorts of reports as to rottenness existing in the
province, and especially the northern end of it,
it is said that it is impossible to secure the con-
viction of the law breakers and outlaws by the na-
tive justices, or prosecution by the native fiscals.
Outlawrj' and insurrection continue. Leyte is in
the doubtful column, and there are rumblings
from many other districts. In Manila the great-
est dissatisfaction exists as to the stand taken on
the currency question. The long and short of it
is that Americans will not stand for an arbitrary
government, especially when evidences of carpet-
bagging and rumors of graft are too thick to
be pleasant.

If civil government is to be a success in the
Philippines, there must be a radical departure
from the altitudes, and a listening to reason and
the desires of the people. Backbone must be

As It Is in the Philippines. 51

instituted into the provincial governments, and
the entire system must be strengthened. If not,
the present movement which has already gained
way in the States is liable to spread until it
drowns out the Philippines altogether. Many a
little boy has lost all the pleasure from his ice
cream by eating too much of it.

Since the publication of that editorial, outside
of what may have appeared at the trial, for which
the editor and publisher were condemned, the
statements then made have been amply and em-
phatically proved, as : ly one who read the sworn
testimony given before the Gardener court, of
which General Wint was the presiding officer,
will fully agree. The facts developed in that
case alone would suffice in the mind of any ordi-
nary individual to endorse all that was stated in
the "Freedom."

Although the "Freedom" was probably more
severe in its criticisms than any other paper, the
"Times" and the "American" practically echoed
and endorsed everything printed by it. but the
Commission now has the papers sufficiently ter-
rorized so that they are afraid to tell the truth,
and they will doubtless be very cautious. There
are, however, some brainy, able men at the heads
of the newspapers in Manila, who will neither be
forced nor compelled to write what they do not
believe in order to elevate Governor Taft and
his associates into the position of Czars.

The Press Club made an appeal to President
Roosevelt when the law was first put into force
against the "Freedom," and they cabled to Wash-

52 As It Is in the Philippines.

ington at considerable expense, but not even a
reply was vouchsafed.

Under present conditions in the Philipp'nes,
the outlook for successful newspaper work is
very poor.

CHAPTER V.

The Custom House. — Phenomenal Rise of the Collec-
tor, W. Morgan Shuster. — Postal Affairs. — Good
Work done by Auditor Lawshe. — Excellent Results
Accomplished by the Forestry Bureau under Cap-
tain Ahearn. — Some Useless Bureaus. — Provincial
Governments.

One of the principal branches of the Govern-
ment is naturally the Custom House, which, ac-
cording to merchants in Manila, both those who
have been there for years and recent American
arrivals, is far from being what it should be,
not so much on account of its management, but
on account of what is called by many its exces-
sive tariff, which is practically much higher than
it was in Spanish times. Under Spanish domina-
tion, the merchants, by a little judicious greasing
of the palms of the Manila customs officials,
could always get in goods of a high quality un-
dervalued, whereas, under the American regime,
this system of defrauding the Government has
entirely disappeared, much to the sorrow of the
merchants and incidentally of the general public.

54 As It Is in the Philippines.

as it has meant a very large increase in the prices
of almost all classes of goods, so much so that
from being one of the cheapest places on earth
to live in, it ranks among the most expensive.

The present Collector of Customs, Mr. W.
Morgan Shuster, made an admirable record as a
customs official during the entire period of Gen-
eral Bliss' reign as the Chief Collector of Cus-
toms for the Island of Cuba. Mr. Shuster is a
splendid example of the possibilities of the Amer-
ican boy who has integrity, intelligence and en-
ergy. At the outbreak of the Spanish-Amer-
ican War, Mr. Shuster joined the War De-
partment as a temporary clerk at $900 per
year. He had been a student at the George-
town University, and as he had completed
his studies, took the first opportunity that
arose to gain remuneration. While in the
War Department he did his work as stenographer
and typewriter so well that when something of
special importance had to be done it seemed nat-
ural to entrust it to him.

When Havana was occupied and the Island
Government was being organized, clerks were
needed. There were all sorts of stories about
yellow fever and discomfort. Slightly increased
salaries were offered as an inducement. Mr.
Shuster decided that he wanted a wider field,

''I

As It Is in the Philippines. 55

and he went as a total stranger with Major, now
General Bliss as a clerk in the Cuban Customs
Service. His industry and attention to work
soon attracted the attention of his new superior.
It was Mr. Shuster who discovered the attempted
customs frauds in Havana, and he was gradually
promoted until he became principal assistant to
General Bliss.

Later, when civil government was established
in the Philippine Islands, the President, in look-
ing for a good Collector of Customs for the Arch-
ipelago, called upon General Bliss to recommend
some one, if there was anybody in the Island of
Cuba that was competent. General Bliss, with-
out hesitation, suggested Mr. Shuster. Mr. Root,
Secretary of War, having had an opportunity of
learning the value of his work, fully concurred in
the suggestion made by General Bliss, and in
consequence Mr. Shuster was appointed at a
salary of $6,000 a year as Chief of the Customs
Service in the Philippine Archipelago.

Thus, it will be seen, that Mr. Shuster, solely
by his own exertions, in the short period of three
years, rose from an obscure clerk among the
forty thousand in his class in Washington, where
he was earning less than $1,000 a year, to one
of the most important positions in the Philippines,
which he fills with dignity and honor. His rise is

56 As It Is in the Philippines.

probably more phenomenal than that of any per-
son brought forward by the events connected
with the Spanish-American War, and is a splen-
did example of the possibilities of American
youth.

The postal affairs of the Archipelago have as-
sumed a considerable volume of business which
amounts to fully three times as much as was ever
handled under the old Spanish regime. The Direc-
tor-General, C. M. Cotterman, has organized a
satisfactory system of delivery for the entire
Archipelago, that is, satisfactory so far as the
means of transportation at his disposal allow, as
in many cases it is impossible to get mail to the
people oftener than once in a week or ten days,
and sometimes even longer, but that is not the
fault of the postal authorities.

The post office in Manila is in a convenient
locality, situated on the Escolta, Manila's princi-
pal street, but the building deserves attention, not
being up to the needs and requirements of the
postal service as it is at present, and many a
city in the United States with one-fifth of
the population of Manila has a much more com-
modious building.

Another branch of the Philippine civil gov-
ernment, which covers a considerable amount of
work in the course of a day, is that of the

As It Is in the Philippines. 57

treasury, the Treasurer being Mr. Frank A.
Branagan.

The Treasury Department arranges for the
payment of all the civil employees of the Gov-
ernment from one end of the Archipelago to the
other, which means a considerable amount of
work, while closely allied to the Treasury De-
partment may be said to be the Auditor's De-
partment, presided over by Mr. A. L. Lawshe.

Mr, Lawshe has long been connected with the
Auditor's Department in Washington, and was
appointed auditor to the Island of Cuba
when the gigantic postal frauds were first discov-
ered. As soon as civil government was formed in
the Philippines, Mr. Lawshe was sent there with
all the power that could be given to an auditor,
for the Administration in Washington was deter-
mined that no such scandal as the Cuban postal
affair should tarnish the American record in the
Philippines if it was in their power to prevent it,
and consequently Mr. Lawshe was chosen as one
of the ablest men the War Department had, a
man still young, having energy and at the same
time considerable experience and unimpeachable
integrity.

A branch of the Government that has in the
oast few months had its hands full is the Quar-
antine Department, which has been in charge of

58 As It Is in the Philippines.

Dr. J. S. Perry, of the Marine Hospital Service.
Dr. Perry or an assistant boards every steamer
that comes to Manila between daylight and dark,
and he is in constant communication with the
American Marine Hospital Service at Hong
Kong and Yokohama. As soon as cholera was
announced in Hong Kong, vessels from that port
were put under a strict quarantine in the hope of
keeping the dread epidemic from the coast of the
Philippines, but no effort could prevent its com-
ing in, as it seems to have spread from Hong
Kong throughout China and even Japan, which
has the strictest quarantine laws in the world.
The purchase of supplies for the Philippine
Islands for the use of the various branches of
the Government is in the hands of a bureau, at
the head of which is Major E. G. Shields, who
is a conscientious and hard-working man, though
he has made himself very unpopular with the
merchants of Manila, as the majority of the
supplies are purchased away from the Philippines
and come in free of duty, very much lower than
it is possible for the merchants of Manila to
supply the same goods, as they have to pay the
original price plus the high tariflF at Manila. The
merchants do not attack his honesty of purpose,
and indeed, the majority blame the Commission
for the situation more than Major Shields, al-

As It Is in the Philippines. 59

though, as he is the individual who advertises
the contracts, a number do not discriminate be-
tween the individual and the power that com-
pels him to act as he does.

The Forestry Bureau, under the direction of
Captain George P. Ahearn, loaned for duty to
the civil government from the Ninth United
States Infantry, has done excellent work since
its inception, April 14, 1900.

The Spanish Government had inaugurated a
forestry service in 1863, nearly three hundred
years after their occupation of the islands. The
forestry officials were selected from the forestry
service of Spain, the subordinate places in the
Philippines being partly filled by Filipinos, and
at no time had a Filipino risen to any of the
higher places in the service. After Captain
Ahearn took charge, notices were sent to the
former forestry officials to make applications for
positions in the bureau if they so desired. Men
acquainted with the country, forests, language
and former regulations were considered more
useful than any officials from other countries.
A number presented themselves with credentials,
which usually consisted of diplomas from the
Agricultural College of Manila. None but na-
tives presented themselves, the Spanish foresters
having returned, leaving the Islands without a

do As It Is in the Philippines.

single trained forester. Since that time a num-
ber of Filipinos have risen high in the forestry
service and are doing excellent work. All tim-
ber cut on public land is cut by license.

The demand for forest products during the
last few years has been so great in the Philip-
pines that men with the information just outlined
were sought by the lumber companies and of-
fered higher salaries than were given in the
forestry service. No forestry official was per-
mitted to receive any money in addition to his
salary in the Forestry Bureau for supervising
papers or any other work rendered in the course
of his duties.

Captain Ahearn found the Spanish forestry
laws and regulations that were in force in Au-
gust, 1898, to be excellent, and practically in
line with similar laws and regulations in Europe,
where the science of forestry has reached a high
stage of perfection, but unfortunately these laws
and regulations, up to the time of American oc-
cupation, had not been enforced and the science
not practiced, as the record of the testimony of
an official shows. Under Spanish administration,
licenses cut any and everything. Trees to be
felled were not selected. No minimum size was
maintained. Valuable rubber and gutta percha

As It Is in the Philippines. 61

trees were felled and some of the finest woods
were used as fire wood.

Captain Ahearn has caused a complete change
in all this, and at present the bureau is one of
the most effective under the Philippine Com-
mission.

The Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, under
the direction of Dr. D. P. Barrows, is one of
those bureaus that has yet to show for what pur-
pose it was made a separate and distinct organ-
ization and not merely a part of some other
branch of government.

The Mining Bureau, under Mr. Charles H.
Burritt, has not yet assumed proportions to en-
title it to be a special bureau, and it could easily
have been made a portion of the Forestry Bureau
with a single additional clerk.

The Agricultural Bureau, which has recently
been formed, should prove of immense value.

The Weather Bureau, under the direction of
the Rev. Father Algue, who is superintendent
of the observatory, does good work in giving
warning of approaching typhoons, and is gen-
erally accurate with regard to weather prob-
abilities.

The Government Cold Storage Bureau, in a
climate like Manila, has been a boon to all those
entitled to purchase their ice from it. Of course.

62 As It Is in the Philippines.

the local ice manufacturers objected to the for-
mation of this bureau, as they have had to re-
duce the price of ice, and also have lost a very
large number of customers, owing to the fact
that anybody connected with the Government can
purchase ice from the Cold Storage Bureau at
half the price at which it is obtainable from the
merchants, but there is no question that the cold
storage for the Government was necessary, as
the supply of ice from the local manufacturers
was neither certain nor satisfactory when ob-
tained, as customers could never be sure that
the water used in the making of the ice was
sterilized. For some time Captain L. S. Ron-
diez has been in charge of this bureau.

It is difficult to go through a list of the numer-
ous bureaus that have been put into commission
by the present civil government, but the prin-
cipal ones not previously alluded to are the Bu-
reau of Public Lands, the Bureau of Architecture
and the Bureau of Printing.

CHAPTER VI.

Municipality of Manila a Credit to the Commission. —
Police Force Efficient. — Good Work of the Board
of Health. — Bilibid Prison Becoming like an Ameri-
can Penitentiary. — Music on the Luneta. — Senti-
ment Regarding the Tearing Down of the Walls.

Perhaps of all the departments of the govern-
ment of the Philippine Islands for which the
Commission is responsible, the greatest success
has been in the municipality of Manila. It has
been under the immediate eye of the Commis-
sion since the commencement of civil rule, and
the two American members of the Municipal
Board are young and energetic men, in thorough
accord with the ideas of the Commission and
quick to take suggestions when offered. Both
Governor Taft and afterwards Acting Governor
Wright spent a considerable portion of their time
in studying the needs of the City of Manila.

The Municipal Board consists of three mem-
bers, the President, Arsemo Cruz Herrera, at

64 As It Is in the Philippines.

$5,000 per annum, while the American member^
are Percy G. McDonell and Charles H. Sleeper,
at $4,500 each per annum.

In line with the policy of placing Filipinos in
high salaried and responsible positions, a Fili-
pino was made the president of the board, and his
appointment has been a success, for even if he
has done nothing to amount to anything, he has
had the good sense not to interfere and hinder
the American members of the board in their
work.

First and foremost of the departments under
the Municipal Board, both for its size and ef-
ficiency, is the police force, and to Captain George
W. Curry, the superintendent, who resigned on
the 5th of July, is due the credit of having or-
ganized a police force, the white portion of which
is the peer of any police force in the world.

Captain Curry was once Sheriff of his county
in New Mexico. On the breaking out of the
Spanish-American War, he became an officer un-
der Wood and Roosevelt in the Rough Riders.
After that regiment was mustered out. Captain
Curry applied for and obtained a commission in
the Eleventh Volunteer Cavalry, serving in it
with honor and distinction, until the early part of
1 90 1, when he was made Governor of the Cam-
arines. There were many applications for the

As It Is in the Philippines. 65

position of Chief of the Police Department when
the civil authorities took over the reins of office,
but Curry was not one of them. He was se-
lected solely on account of his fitness, and it
was unquestionably one of the best appointments
that the Civil Commission made.

The police force had about four hundred white
policemen, all of whom had served in the army
in the Philippines, the majority of them in the
Volunteers. Every man was picked, the result
being a fine, able-bodied, strong, healthy-looking
lot of men, accustomed to discipline and obeying
orders with promptitude. They were always
civil and obliging to the public and ambitious
to rise.

They were placed in the most important parts
of the city, especially those places which the
white inhabitants frequented. There was always
a certain amount of resentment on the part of
the American residents at the fact that each mem-
ber of the Commission had a white police guard
continually over his house, as it was the opin-
ion that if the city was really pacified, there was
no necessity of a special guard for the Commis-
sioners any more than for any business man,
whereas, if it was merely a matter of dignity, they
required more than Cabinet officers in Washing-
ton.

66 As It Is in the Philippines.

Captain Curry brought this branch of the po-
Hce force to a splendid state of efficiency, and
was instrumental in obtaining for them a gym-
nasium and club, while he also succeeded in
forming a club for the thousand or more na-
tive policemen belonging to the force.

The native police also deserve their meed
of praise, for they have really done good work,
and although they look rather diminutive along-
side of the stalwart American policemen, still
on frequent occasions they have shown consider-
able pluck in capturing criminals.

The work of the Board of Health this year
has been something enormous, and Colonel L. M.
Maus has worked with his assistants early and
late, mainly in the endeavor to stay the ravages
of cholera. Portions of the city have been
isolated and even burned, the food supplies have
been examined, vegetables and other foods have
been prevented from coming into the city from
the provinces, houses all over the city have
been made sanitary and in many cases con-
demned and ordered to be torn down; a deten-
tion camp was formed in which to keep for
a certain number of days, people who happened
to reside in a house where cholera broke out,
and all this caused an immense amount of labor
and a large increase in the force. At one time

As It Is in the Philippines. 67

over five hundred additional men were employed.

In the fall of 1901, the work of the Board of
Health was largely devoted to stamping out the
plague, and two cents each was given for every
rat that was brought to the stations at which In-
spectors were. If the City of Manila is not to-
day healthy, it is not the fault of Major Maus
and those who have assisted him during the
past twelve months, chief of whom may be said
to be Dr. H. A. Herman.

In the office of the Board of Health, all busi-
ness concerning the different departments of San
Lazaro Hospital, Hospicio De San Jose, Plague
Hospital, Experimental Hospital for Rinderpest
and Plague, Vaccine Station and Municipal
Laboratories is transacted. If one becomes ill
of any suspicious disease, a doctor from the
Health Board takes charge of the case until
all danger of infection is over, or until the pa-
tient is laid to rest in quicklime, in one of the
numerous cemeteries of Manila.

The water arrangements of the city are not at
present adequate to the population, and plans
are on foot to largely increase the supply. Many
years ago a Spanish gentleman died and left a
sum of money which was to be used for the
building of a reservoir and for the purpose of
bringing the water into the city, prior to which

68 As It Is in the Philippines.

water was brought in carts and sold from house
to house. The only stipulation that the donor
made was that this water was to be free to the
poor, a stipulation which, strange to say, seems
to have been always carried out. The members of
the Municipal Board have plans now before them
to more than double the supply at present ob-
tained.

The Fire Department has been very antiquated
and practically useless, but under the new chief,
Hugh Bonner, formerly Chief of the Fire Depart-
ment of New York, if his plans are carried out,
the city eventually will have an efficient Fire De-
partment. Manila does not as a rule suffer from
very serious fires, but when a conflagration does
take place, the fire is generally past quelling
as far as the house itself is concerned, before the
Fire Department arrives, and their work here-
tofore has mainly been to endeavor to save the
surrounding property. Mr. Bonner hopes to have
his Department arrive at such a state of efficien-
cy that the fire in the house itself may be stopped,
and in the course of time this result will doubt-
less be achieved, as no more Nina shacks are
allowed to be built within the limits of the city.
The ordinary Nipa shacks only last from two
to three years, and their places will have to be
taken either by stone or wooden houses.

HON. LUKE E. WRIGHT.
Vice-Governor of the Philippines.

As It Is in the Philippines. 69

There are several public markets in Manila,
which have their own inspectors as well as be-
ing supervised to a certain extent by the Board
of Health, and all animals that are killed for
public consumption have to go through the
slaughter house.

The Bilibid Penitentiary is in the City of
Manila, and in the last twelve months has un-
dergone considerable improvement. It is begin-
ning to assume the appearance of a modern Amer-
ican jail. The Warden, Captain G. N. Wolfe,
was Deputy Warden under the military regime.
He speaks Spanish well, and is now acquainted
with the majority of the criminals in the Philip-
pines. Changes that have been made, have been
mainly if not entirely at his suggestion, and the
sanitation is as nearly perfect as it can be made
at present in the Philippines, while the food
is abundant and healthful.

The Penitentiary at Manila is partly self-sup-
porting and Captain Wolfe hopes to make it
entirely so. There is a laundry in connection
with the prison, at which the public can have
all washing done. There is also a furniture store
for the sale of bamboo furniture, all of which
is made in the prison. There is also a curio de-
partment, where all sorts of knick-knacks are

70 As It Is in the Philippines.

sold, made of Caribao horns, fancy woods, and
other odd materials.

The Department of Streets, Parks, Docks and
Wharves is one for which the people of Manila
should be very thankful for the efficient man-
ner in which the work is conducted. The streets
are well watered and when found in need of
repairs are attended to promptly. The streets
themselves are a long way from what the people
would like, mainly on account of their narrow-
ness and the material with which they are made,
and it is estimated that it will take some twenty
million dollars to put in drains, sewer pipes and
proper streets in the city.

One of the main features of Manila life is the
Luneta, which is the daily evening drive of every-
body who has a horse in Manila, and the walk of
thousands of others who do not own anything
in the way of transportation excepting their
own legs. The Luneta has been vastly improved
since the old Spanish days. It is well lighted,
and is a most pleasant resort between half-past
five and seven o'clock, during which hours, six
nights a week, the Military Band plays, Monday
being the only day when it does not.

For a time, shortly after the civil authorities
took possession of the city, there was some trou-
ble as to where the music should be obtained, the

As It Is in the Philippines. 71

city not possessing a band of its own, while the
Military did not feel called upon to send their
bands without express orders. Finally it was
agreed upon that two regimental bands should
play three times a week each, while the city
should contribute $ioo per month to each regi-
ment for the purchase of music, repairing the
ij.'struments and similar uses.

The municipal authorities have in contempla-
tion the establishment of a city band, which will
probably be in connection with the Police De-
partment, though at one time the idea was
dropped as too expensive. There is no question
that music is much more of a necessity in a coun-
try like the Philippines, than it would be in a
colder clime, and it is almost a certainty that
within the next few months, Manila will own her
own city band.

Taken all in all, the municipality of Manila is
a credit to the American administration and in
every way a great improvement over what it
was under Spanish rule, though to make a mod-
ern city of Manila will require a vast expendi-
ture of money, which sooner or later, before
epidemics can be checked, must be undertaken.

There is some sentiment in the United States
with regard to the tearing down of the walls
of the Walled City, which would considerably

72 As It Is in the Philippines.

increase the size of Manila and would enable
a wide park to be laid around it. At present
all health authorities agree that the wall and
the moat are menaces to the health of the city.
This is recognized even by those who know noth-
ing whatever about sanitation, but it is impos-
sible to look upon the dark, murky water in
the moat which is a breeding place for mosqui-
toes and is full of malaria, without recognizing
the fact that from it comes a considerable por-
tion of the sickness in Manila.

The walls are historically not of any great
importance, being little over a hundred years old,
and sentiment should not be allowed to interfere
in the course of progress, and in a matter that
affects the health of tens of thousands of peo-
ple.

CHAPTER VII.

System of Courts. — ^Justices of the Peace. — Municipal
Judges. — Courts of First Instance. — Supreme Court.
— ^Judge Odlin Rebukes Attorney- General Wilfley. —
American Lawyers before the Judges. — Expenses
of Law Suits Doubled. — Native Judges and Presi-
dentes Unfair.

The new system of courts under the civil gov-
ernment was created by virtue of a law passed
by the United States Philippine Commission, in
June, 1901, known as Act No. 136. This
system therefore has been in operation over a
year and it is possible to give a clear idea of
results.

The system provides for a Justice of the Peace
in each municipality of the Archipelago, whose
jurisdiction extends to civil cases in which the
amount involved does not exceed $100, United
States money, and who is empowered to try
persons charged with crime where the penalty
may not exceed six months' imprisonment, or

74 As It Is in the Philippines.

$100 fine. Their criminal jurisdiction also ex-
tends to investigations of more serious crimes,
which, if tried at all, come before the Court of
First Instance in the Province, in which the
Justice of the Peace sits. This system is not
applicable to the City of Manila, where the work
is divided. There two Justices of the Peace are
entrusted with civil suits where the amount does
not exceed $ioo, gold, and to dispose of the
criminal business two Municipal Courts exist,
presided over by American judges whose func-
tions are purely those of criminal judges and who
have jurisdiction over all offenses against mu-
nicipal ordinances of the city, and also over
violators of the Penal Code where the penalty
does not exceed six months in prison, or a fine
of $ I GO, gold, or both. All Justices of the Peace
are natives.

Coming down to the courts now in rank,
corresponding to the Superior Courts or Cir-
cuit Courts as they are variously designated in
the United States, the Archipelago, outside of
the City of Manila, was divided into fourteen
districts and in each district a Court of First
Instance was created with one judge assigned
to each district. Of the fourteen judges thus
assigned six were Filipinos and eight were Amer-
icans. In addition a special court was created

As It Is in the Philippines. 75

for the Island of Negros to dispose of a vast
accumulation of business, and this special court
is presided over by an American, Judge Nor-
ris, formerly of Nebraska.

In the City of Manila it was thought at first
that two judges would be sufficient to handle
the business each sitting in separate court rooms
and the work being divided equally between
them. The figures, however, show that between
July 1st, 1901, and July ist, 1902, thirteen hun-
dred and twelve suits were instituted, of which
three hundred and sixty-three were criminal and
nine hundred and forty-nine were civil. The
amount of business being largely in excess of
what was expected it became necessary to in-
crease the number of judges in Manila from two
to three, which was done in May of the pres-
ent year, and B. S. Ambler, of Salem, Ohio,
was appointed as third judge of First Instance, in
Manila, and is now sitting daily with the other
two judges.

The Court of First Instance in Manila, as well
a,s in the Provinces, not only has original juris-
diction in all civil cases in which over $100 is
involved, but also has original jurisdiction over
all crimes wherein the penalty may exceed six
months' imprisonment or $100. Furthermore,
appeals from courts of Justices of the Peace and

76 As It Is in the Philippines.

from Municipal Courts in the City of Manila,
are heard by the Court of First Instance in the
respective Provinces.

The highest court in the Islands, the Su-
preme Court of the Philippines, comprises
a Chief Justice and seven Associate Justices.
The Chief Justice and the two Associate Justices
are Filipinos, and the remaining four Associate
Justices are Americans. This court corresonds
to the highest court in a State or Territory, and
has a limited original jurisdiction, but the great-
est bulk of its work is, of course, in the matter
of appeals from the Courts of First Instance.

The Justices of the Peace receive no salaries.
Their income is derived from a fixed schedule
of fees. The municipal judges in the City of
Manila each receive $3,000. The Judges of
Courts of First Instance receive salaries ranging
from $3,000 to $5,000, according to the amount
of work in their respective districts. The larger
salary is received only by the three Judges in
Manila, and the increase is based largely upon
the fact that living expenses in Manila are much
more than in the Provinces.

The salaries of the Justices of the Supreme
Court are $7,000 each, with an extra $500 al-
lowance for the Chief Justice.

A total of four hundred and eight civil cases

As It Is in the Philippines. 77

were brought before the Supreme Court, of which
three hundred and fifty-five were received from
the old aboHshed Supreme Court, and fifty-three
from the new Courts of First Instance by way
of appeal. Of these four hundred and eight
cases the Supreme Court decided forty-
three on the merits, seven appeals were
withdrawn, sixty-one cases were pending
on January ist, 1902, for decision, and
two hundred and ninety-seven were not at issue
by reason of having been defectively transferred
from the old Supreme Court. Under the former
practice cases could be appealed from interloc-
utory orders, without having the pleadings com-
pleted. This vicious practice has been very wise-
ly done away with, by the new Code of Civil
Procedure, which allows appeals in civil cases
only after judgments which are final.

Turning now to the criminal side of the
work of the Supreme Court, we find that the
present court inherited from the former Su-
preme Court three hundred and thirty-nine crim-
inal cases, and received ninety-one by way of
appeals from Courts of First Instance, thus mak-
ing a total of four hundred and thirty. Of
these four hundred and thirty cases, the Supreme
Court during the first six months of its existence
decided two hundred and eighteen, and five

78 As It Is in the Philippines.

appeals were withdrawn, thus leaving two hun-
dred and seven cases pending for decision.

In addition to the above, there were sixteen
applications for writs of habeas corpus before the
Supreme Court, of which ten were denied, five
issued and one withdrawn. There were also
three case of certiorari from Courts of First In-
stance, in one of which the writ was issued, and
in two of which the writ was denied. There are
also four cases pending involving questions of
jurisdiction between the military courts and the
ordinary civil courts.

Before the time when the Philippine bill passed
Congress, the Supreme Court claimed there was
no appeal in any case from their decision to the
Supreme Court of the United States, and that
the only appeal possible was to the pardoning
power of the Commission. This was felt by.
every American in the Philippines to be unjust,
and had any important case arisen there is very
little doubt that the constitutional right of such
a decision would have had to be passed upon by
the Supreme Court of the United States. The
Judiciary is entirely and absolutely under the
Commission. The appointments are made by the
Commission and removals at any time can be
made by it.

It is not the desire of the author to in any

As It Is in the Philippines. 79

way impugn the honor and integrity of any
judge in Manila, but at the same time, even
the most honest and upright of judges is only
human, and where he knows that the desire of the
Commission is to have a man convicted, his own
inclination would be more than probable to be
in accord.

A notable exception to this occurred in the
"Freedom" sedition case, when Judge Ar-
thur F. Odlin severely reprimanded Attorney-
General Lebbeus R. Wilfley, who had the pre-
sumption to inform Judge Odlin that he knew
what the wishes of the Commission were on
the subject and that it was his duty to do it.
Judge Odlin informed Attorney-General Wilfley
that individuals had rights as well as govern-
ments, and that he was there to protect those
rights, and that so far as his court was con-
cerned, he was going to do justice to individuals
as well as to the Commission.

When a high authority like the Attorney-Gen-
eral seemed to take it for granted in open court
that the judges all knew it was their duty to
do as the Commission wished, a more potent
argument for trial by jury, in American cases
at all events, could not be adduced. As a high'
ranking military officer said to the author after
this, "Well, Bellairs, they may talk about mili-

80 As It Is in the Philippines.

tarism and military courts, but if I was the com-
manding General, and should send word to a
court by the Judge Advocate what I desired
should be done in the case, what a howl there
would be from one end of America to the other.
I do not think that the people of Manila have
gained very much, by their judicial change, at
all events, for although a military commission
w^s composed of a number of army officers, still
it came nearer being a trial by jury than any-
thing now in existence."

The "Freedom" sedition case, as soon as Judge
Ambler was put on the bench was taken away
from Judge Odlin and put in the new court.
This may have been and probably was purely
accidental, but the proprietor and editor of the
"Freedom" looked upon it as equivalent to a
conviction for themselves, for they doubted very
much whether another judge was on the bench
in the Philippines as fearless as was Judge
Odlin.

There was not a man in Manila who had
a case before the court, when he thought he
was in the right, who did not desire to get his
case before Judge Odlin, and the bar of Manila,
almost to a man, considere 1 that he was the
best lawyer on the bench, Supreme Court in-
cluded.

As It Is in the Philippines. 81

A question that has often come up, is that
regarding the practice of American lawyers
in the Philippine courts, several taking the
ground that the mere fact of their being qualified
to practice before the Supreme Court of the
United States should be sufficient reason why
they should be permitted to practice before any
court in the Philippines. The Supreme Court
of the Philippines, the American Justices of
whom have themselves not passed the examina-
tion and probably could not if they wished, de-
cided that a lawyer must pass the necessary
Spanish qualifications, even though the case was
a purely American one. The consequence is, that
the expenses of law suits in Manila are double,
as, if one desires a lawyer that he believes to be
the one best able to take care of his interests,
and this lawyer happens not to be a member
of the Philippine bar, a Filipino lawyer must
first be obtained, who then hires the American
lawyer as adviser, and that is the way the major-
ity of the important suits in the Philippines are
tried.

There is no question that, through all the
Provinces, the native Justices and Presidentes
carry things with a high hand, and the man
with the most money wins his suit, and where

82 As It Is in the Philippines.

it is a case of a native against an American, or
a foreigner, the result is never in doubt, the na-
tive winning it every time. Complaints of such
cases are frequent throughout the Provinces and
even in Manila.

CHAPTER VIII.

The Army in the Philippines. — Its Reward Public In-
gratitude.— General Wheaton Attacked. — Senator
Rawlins' Attack on General Chaffee. — Chaffee's
Diplomacy. — Colonel Lee's Opinion of Chaffee. —
General Bell's Humane Concentration Plans. — Gen-
eral Smith, a Conquering Hero, Accomplished with
Little Bloodshed in Six Months What Spain Never
Succeeded jn Doing. — Peaceable Natives Favor
Army.

The work done by the United States Army in
the PhiHppines, both by volunteers and regulars,
has been one of ceaseless toil and unwearying de-
votion to duty. Lives have been cheerfully
given up for America's honor, and out of chaos
and blackness has appeared the davm of a new
era in Philippine history.

The reward for this has been national in-
gratitude, partly expressed in the press of the
country, but more so in the halls of Congress.
The Senator from Utah, Mr. Rawlins, said : "My
God, Senators, will any one rise and tell me when

84 As It ts in the Philippines.

and where among a barbaric people, you have
read of such an act of brutality as that? When
was anything like that disclosed elsewhere upon
the face of the earth?"

This was an allusion to the army in the Phil-
ippines. Senator Lodge ably defended the army
in Congress, but until he spoke there was nothing
but abuse and contempt.

When General Wheaton, a gray haired vet-
eran of the Civil War, Indian campaigns and the
Spanish-American War, incidentally remarked
that it was a pity such remarks as President
Schurman's were published in the Philippines,
and it was thought that he had criticised the mi-
nority report of the Senate, the abuse showered on
the gallant soldier was of the most vituperative
character, and one Senator went so far as to
allude to him as a "charity boy," believing
that he had been at West Point. General
Wheaton was not a West Pointer, but had he
been, he would have had something to have
been proud of, for what graduates of West Point
have done in one war alone, has saved the coun-
try many times over what West Point has cost
since its inception. West Point has given to
the United States Army the finest trained body
of officers of any army in the world. To be a
graduate of West Point is synonymous with be-

As It Is in the Philippines. 85

ing a gentleman and a man of honor, and to
characterize these men as "charity boys" mere-
ly stamps the speaker as ignorant and ill-bred.

Senator Rawlins alluded to General Chaffee's
having received his education in savagery in
China. If there was one man in China noted for
his humanity and his soldierly qualities, it was
General Chaffee. Many a British officer has the
author heard remark: "Why don't they send
us a man out to command us like your General ?"
There is not a known case of cruelty on rec-
ord of a single soldier of the United States
Army, cavalry, infantry, artillery or engineer,
in the China campaign. Their exceeding human-
ity was an oft quoted example among the na-
tions in China.

General Chaffee is far too well known to be
injured by such a man as Senator Rawlins.
His record, from the time when he first became
a private in the Sixth United States Cavalry, in
July, 1861, to April, 1902, when he became a
Major General, has been one of long devotion
to duty, and honor, integrity and ability.

Few people who knew General Chaffee best
gave him credit for the diplomatic ability that
he displayed during the campaign in China, where
he had so frequently to come into close rela-
tions in delicate matters with the officers of the

86 As It Is in the Philippines.

foreign powers. To have succeeded in the Phil-
ippines under the continual nagging and suspi-
cion of the Commission, required an amount
of tact, diplomacy and patience granted to but
few men.

From July, 1901, until July, 1902, General
Chaffee had a very much harder problem on
his hands than fell to the lot of any of his pred-
ecessors, who were commanding generals in the
Philippines. They were also supreme in all
the powers of government, and could do what
they chose, but General Chaffee had a nominal
title as Military Governor, which extended over
a few of the Provinces, and was supposed to
be co-equal with the Civil Governor, the Hon.
William H. Taft. This equality was very much
resented by the civil authorities, and, there is
little doubt, whether intentionally or uninten-
tionally, that business relations were made very
unpleasant for General Chaffee and the army
generally.

General Chaffee succeeded in that twelve
months, as few men could have done, and even
succeeded in gaining the esteem of the Com-
mission itself. What foreigners think of Gen-
eral Chaffee, let Colonel Lee, the British Mili-
tary Attache with the army in Cuba, express.
He said, in writing of El Caney :

As It Is in the Philippines. 87

"The strong post had been carefully recon-
noitered by Brigadier-General Chaffee in person,
on June 28 and 29, and he had submitted a plan
of attack which was afterwards carried out al-
most to the letter.

"I feel it only just at this point to mention
that, however novel the absence of reconnoissance
in other directions, nothing could have been more
enterprising or systematic than General Chaffee's
exploration of his own theater of operations. I
had the pleasure of accompanying him on more
than one occasion, and derived much profit from
a study of his methods.

"Leaving his staff behind, he would push far
to the front, and, finally dismounting, slip
through the brush with the rapidity and
noiselessness of an Indian. My efforts to
follow him were like the progress of a band
wagon in comparison, but I gradually acquired
a fairy-like tread and a stumbling facility in sign
language, which enabled me to follow the Gen-
eral without too loudly advertising our pres-
ence to the Spaniards. On one occasion we
were in such proximity to the Spanish pick-
ets, that we could hear the men talking over their
suppers, and until I began to speculate on the
probable efficiency of the British passport that
was my sole defensive weapon. In this silent,

88 As It Is in the Philippines.

Indian fashion, General Chaffee explored the en-
tire district, and was the only man in the army, to
whom the network of bridle paths around El
Caney was in any sense familiar."
In another case. Colonel Lee, says :
"Wishing to see how they were faring, I
crawled through the hedge into the field be-
yond, and incidentally into such a hot corner, that
I readily complied with General Chaffee's abrupt
injunction, 'G^t down on your stc«nach, sir.'
Indeed, I was distinctly grateful for his advice,
but I could not fail to notice that he was regard-
less of it himself. Wherever the fire was thick-
est he strolled about unconcernedly, a half-
smoked cigar between his teeth and an expression
of exceeding grimness on his face. The situa-
tion was a trying one for the nerves of the
oldest soldier, and some of the younger hands
fell back from the firing line and crept towards
the road. In a moment the General pounced
upon them, inquiring their destination in low,
unhoneyed accents, and then taking them per-
suasively by the elbow, led them back to the ex-
treme front, and having deposited them in the
firing line, stood over them while he distributed
a few last words of pungent and sulphurous ad-
vice. Throughout the day he set the most in-
spiring example to his men, and that he escaped

As It Is in the Philippines. 89

unhurt was a miracle. One bullet clipped a
breast button off his coat, another passed under
his shoulder strap, but neither touched him, and
there must be some truth in the old adage that
'fortune favors the brave.' "

General Bell has been bitterly attacked on ac-
count of the reconcentrative policy established
by him to end the war in Batangas, and was
compared to Weyler, to the Duke of Alba, and
to various others, whose record in history is some-
what unsavory, and on what grounds? Mere-
ly because he carried out as humane a policy
as could possibly be imagined and succeeded
in pacifying Batangas.

The concentration policy of General Weyler
in Cuba was right and justifiable, had arrange-
ments been made for the feeding and care of
those in the concentrated zone, but no arrange-
ments of such a nature were made, and the
result was intense suffering and in many cases
death from starvation. The policy carried out
by General Bell was very different, and the re-
concentrado camps were models of health
and sanitation, every man, woman and
child being well fed and cared for, so
much so, that when Batangas was pacified, it
was with difficulty that the people could be made
to return to their homes.

90 As It Is in the Philippines.

The case of General Jacob H. Smith is one
that seems to be particularly hard. He was sent
to Samar to quell the rebellion there. The
natives of Samar have, all through Spanish
times, been adverse to foreigners. General
Smith arrived there immediately after the mas-
sacre at Balangiga, and saw the atrocious man-
ner in which the dead had been mutilated. He
made some remarks to Major Waller in the
heat of passion, which he probably never
really intended. In fact. Major Waller testi-
fied that he did not suppose that General Smith
intended that he should kill persons who were
found and had committed no offenses. There
is no doubt but that General Smith did say, "kill
and burn; make Samar a howling wilderness;"
and when Waller asked him what age limit, he
replied, "Anything over ten years of age." Ma-
jor Waller testified that he construed this to
mean anybody over that age, found fighting the
Americans with arms in his hands, and it is a
well-known fact, that the boys of from ten to
fifteen were among the most useful soldiers
that the Filipinos had, not only as spies upon
the Americans, but also, they were as able to
handle a bolo as their fathers and elder brothers.

The idea of a ten-year-old boy, with a
bolo, fighting a man, was laughed to scorn

As It Is in the Philippines. 91

by the Senate, but the evidence given in the
Smith trial and in the Waller trial, proved that
the statement was nevertheless correct, and it
must be remembered that development comes
much quicker to the youth of a tropical land, than
it does to those born and bred in a colder clime.
General Smith was personally active through the
short and effective campaign that followed, and
in less than six months, at comparatively small
cost of Filipino life, had accomplished what
Spain, in all her history in the Philippines, with
some of her most renowned Generals actively in
the field, had failed to do : Lucban had been cap-
tured and Samar had been pacified; all arrange-
ments had been made for the formal surrender
of the insurgent forces to General Smith.

Naturally every one looked to see this hero,
this conquering General, receive the reward and
promotion that was due him, but instead even
the reward of receiving the surrender of those
whom he had conquered was denied him, and
he was ordered to Manila, to give evidence in the
Waller court martial, after which he was or-
dered to be court martialed himself.

That the words that he had uttered were in-
discreet, there is no question, but they w^ere ut-
tered under circumstances and at a time when
they would be excusable even for a saint. Such

^ As It Is in the Philippines.

was the opinion of the court that tried him,
but its members had to do their duty, which
they did with a great deal of regret, and he was
sentenced to be reprimanded.

It is not the author's intention to criticise
the additional punishment that was placed upon
General Smith, by the President of the Uuited
States. It may have been an expression of the
will of the people, but, if so, the people were
woefully misinformed as to the character of
General Smith and what he had done.

Portions of the public press were bitter in
their condemnation of General Smith, and they
even attributed to him a name that never was
his. He was called "hell roaring" Smith,
which was a name given to another General of
that name, who died several years ago. To
make it more emphatic, several papers altered
it to "hell roaring Jake."

A great deal has been made of a few cases
where the water cure was administered, gen-
erally with success, so far as obtaining the in-
formation desired was concerned. Major Glenn,
when on trial in Samar before a court of which
General Fred Grant was President, had there
two witnesses who had formerly been police of-
ficers in New York, who were to testify that the
water cure was no more cruel than the "third de-

As It Is in the Philippines. 93

gree" used by the police of New York, at the
time when the present President of the United
States and General Fred Grant himself, were
Police Commissioners, and that it was done with
their knowledge and acquiescence. This evi-
dence was not admitted as the Court decided
they would not hear anything outside of the
Philippine Islands. Major Glenn was convicted
and sentenced to a month's suspension from
duty and a fine of fifty dollars.

Very naturally, among members of a large
army, there have from time to time unquestion-
ably been occasional acts of inhumanity, but it
is doubtful if ever a campaign of such a na-
ture was conducted with so much kindness and
humanity.

President Roosevelt, in a recent speech, said:
"The men who after three years of painful,
harassing and incredibly laborious warfare in
the tropical jungles against a treacherous and
savage foe, have finally brought peace and or-
der and civil government in the Philippines,
are your sons, your successors. The tempta-
tion to retaliate for the fearful cruelties of a
savage foe is very great, and now and then it
has been yielded to. There have been a fewl,
and only a few, such instances in the Philip-

94 As It Is in the Philippines.

pines, and punishment has been meted out with
unflinching justice to the offenders."

The Commission has invariably tried to show
that the army in the PhiHppines was unpopular,
but it is a fact that there are several hundred
petitions from the natives in various parts of
the Archipelago, that urge and implore Gen-
eral Chaffee to return the military to numbers
of places to protect them against the ladrones
and the native authorities who are in league with
the ladrones.

CHAPTER IX.

Major Gardener's Report Asked for by the Senate. —
The Report Itself. — Thorough Investigation Or-
dered.— Evidence Proved Report a Complete Mis-
statement of Facts. — Gardener Hoodwinked by Na-
tives from Beginning to End.

One of the most interesting incidents in re-
cent Philippine history, was the report of Major
Cornelius Gardener, acting as Civil Governor
of the Province of Tayabas, which it has since
been claimed, he considered a perfectly confiden-
tial report, only for the eyes of Governor Taft
and the Secretary of War. Somehow word of
this report reached the Senate, and it was called
for in Congress. The following is the report
as sent by Major Gardener to Governor Taft:

96 As It Is in the Philippines.

Province of Tayabas, P. I.,

December i6, 1901.
The Civil Governor of the Philippine Islands,

Manila.
Sir:

As Governor, I have the honor to make the
following report as to the political and other
conditions in this Province, and a short review
of its history since American occupation.

I came to Tayabas Province with my regiment,
the 30th U.S.V., on February 4th, 1900, and
immediately occupied, under orders from Gen-
eral Schwan, its principal towns.

The insurgent troops then occupying the Prov-
ince, consisted of nine companies of one hun-
dred and six men each, about two-thirds of them
armed with rifles. Besides the insurgent troops
proper, all the male inhabitants of suitable ages,
were organized into militia or reserves under
the cabegas or lieutenants of barrios. These
were armed with bolos and a few with rifles.

The insurgent troops proper did not act as a
single body, but were scattered throughout the
Province, acting in single companies or bat-
talions. The militia or reserves occupied the
barrios (villages) in small squads and wore no
uniform.

A vigorous campaign was at once organized
against insurgents in arms, with the troops act-
ing under positive orders to shoot no unarmed
natives and to burn no houses except barracks.

Looting was prohibited under the strictest pen-
alties; company and other commanders were or-

As It Is in the Philippines. 97

dered to pay for everything taken for neces-
sity or bought from natives.

When the American troops first occupied the
Province, the towns, by order of the insurgent
commander, were entirely depopulated, and all
the people lived in the woods and scattered vil-
lages, called barrios.

A proclamation was circulated in Spanish and
Tagalo by the commanding officer of the Amer-
ican troops, setting forth the intention of the
American people towards the people in these Is-
lands, and promising protection of the lives and
property of all peacefully disposed persons.

The troops were ordered to make friends with
the people wherever possible, and little by lit-
tle the towns were repopulated. Many native
priests assisted greatly in rehabilitating the towns
and schools were at once started, in which de-
tailed American soldiers taught the English lan-
guage.

The larger towns only were at first garri-
soned, it being impracticable for want of suffi-
cient troops to garrison all of the twenty-three
pueblos or towns.

A field column composed at different times of
from sixty to one hundred and twenty men was
organized, the soldiers being selected from the
different garrisons and commanded by able of-
ficers. This column was kept in the field for
six months, moving from point to point in the
Province, doing most of its marching and at-
tacking by night.

The garrisons kept the country in the imme-
diate vicinity clear of armed insurgents. Nearly

08 As It Is in the Philippines.

all the Spanish prisoners from the Provinces of
Cavite, Laguna and Batangas had been scat-
tered throughout this Province, and farmed out
for safe keeping in lots of three and four to
every cabega or barrio.

The Province is densely wooded and very
mountainous, and to liberate these prisoners, was
a very difficult matter, because upon the ap-
proach of American troops, the prisoners would
be rushed up and hidden in the mountains. By
November of 1900, over nine hundred had been
liberated or had escaped to our lines, and by
December 30th none remained captive.

In a number of severe engagements, the in-
surgent troops were defeated and their organiza-
tion entirely broken up. Most of the arms were
either captured or delivered up, and by January
30th, 1901, by reason of constant patrolling, there
was no organized insurgent body in the Prov-
ince.

The attitude of the people of the towns at
that time, was all that could be desired, but the
people of the barrios or villages were still timid
and uncertain of American intentions; the more
so, because these had been longer under the
influence of the insurgent leaders and had been
formerly most cruelly treated by the Spaniards.

The troops that succeeded the volunteers did
not for three months keep up the scouting and
patrolling system, and a new force of some two
hundred insurgents was organized on the bor-
der line of the Province, armed with guns that
had been hidden or brought in from Laguna
Province. This force was, however, in May,

As It Is in the Philippines. 99

1901, induced to surrender and that ended the
insurrection in Tayabas.

The treatment of the peaceful natives by the
incoming troops was, however, much different
from what it had been at first. The Provincial
Government was organized, on March 12th, tqoi.
By July, of that year, all of the twenty-three
pueblos had been organized into municipal gov-
ernments, with the single excej tion of the pueblo
of Dolores, which pueblo had been burned by
order of General Hall and there was no town
in which to organize a government, every build-
ing having been burned in ihe town proper, ex-
cept part of the church. Five pueblos had been
organized prior to March ist, 1901, under G.O.
40.

The revenues in all the pueblos have been col-
lected regularly since organization, and on No-
vember I St of this year schools were in operation
in every organized pueblo, and English was be-
ing taught by American teachers in every pueblo
except three.

A complete and accurate census of the Prov-
ince has been taken, showing an increase of
15,000 since the census of 1891, a copy of which
is herewith enclosed.

A careful vaccination of the entire popula-
tion has been made, so that now no case of small-
pox is reported. Twenty-five miles of roads have
been macadamized and repaired. Several bridges
have been built and repaired.

A Court of First Instance has been estab-
lished, justices of the peace and auxiliary jus-
tices have been appointed in every pueblo, all

100 As It Is in the Philippines.

of which courts are presided over by natives,
to the great satisfaction of every one, because
there has as yet occurred no instance of mis-
carriage of justice.

Three Americans, the Governor, the Provincial
Treasurer and Supervisor are the only Americans
holding office in the Province.

I have been long of the opinion that our prin-
cipal efforts in the matter of education should
be directed towards establishing schools in the
barrios, where the masses of the people live. In
the towns proper, the people are fairly well edu-
cated and informed, but in the barrios there
prevails the densest ignorance and not over five
percent of the people can read and write.

The people of the barrios, while very observant
of their religious duties, and a moral, hard-work-
ing population, are very ignorant and supersti-
tious and easily imposed upon, for personal gains,
by priests religiously and insurgent sympathizers
politically, and, I have therefore, in everv way
encouraged the establishment of barrios schools,
where children could be taught elementary knowl-
edge, by native teachers in the Tagalo language.

At present there are of such over a hundred
in operation in this Province, the teachers being
paid by the pueblos.

The adjacent Province of Batangas on the
west and Laguna on the north, being during all
this time still more or less in a state of insur-
rection, this Province, in the month of October
last, was invaded bv a small fcce of insurgents
trom one of these Provinces, which force occupied
and roamed at will in the three most westerly

MAJOR-GENERAL LOYD WHEATON, U. S. A.

As It Is in the Philippines. 101

pueblos, Tiaon, Candelaria and Dolores, and did
some forced recruiting in the barrios of these
pueblos, also collecting from the people of the
barrios by force, contributions of money and rice.

Owing to this invasion, the whole Province is
now again practically under military rule, and is
being treated as an insurgent Province, with civil
procedure practically, and writ of habeas corpus
actually suspended.

Tulisans, or highway robbers, had always in
Spanish times been a disturbing element in Taya-
bas, and, because of the mountainous nature of
the Province, had never been entirely suppressed.

A band of these, composed of the criminal ele-
ment of the Province, and armed with about
sixty rifles, but under color of being patriots,
have in the last two months been levying con-
tributions in some of the southerly mountainous
pueblos of the Province and attacking towns.
After a two-years' experience in this Province, I
am convinced that the Tulisan element can only
be successfully operated against by constabulary
or native troops, assisted by the native police
of the towns, and that whatever insurgents, as
such, there still remain in the Province, had best
now be operated against by natives and not by
U. S. soldiers, and for this reason : In the first
place a force of three hundred men or more com-
posed of natives of this Province can easily be
recruited here, which, if fairly well treated and
regularly paid and properly uniformed, could
be depended upon to be loyal to its officers and
the United States. Since I have been Governor, I
have traveled all over this Province with no

102 As It Is in the Philippines.

other escort than nativ^es. Secondly, as Civil
Governor, I feel it my duty to say that it is my
firm conviction that the U. S. troops should at
the earliest opportunity be concentrated in one
or two garrisons if it is thought desirable that
the good sentiment and loyalty which formerly
existed to the U. S. Government among the peo-
ple of this Province should be conserved and en-
couraged.

Being in close touch with the people, having
visited all the pueblos one or more times, hav-
ing lived with them in their homes. I Know that
such a sentiment once existed. Of late, by rea-
son of the conduct of the troops, such as the ex-
tensive burning of barrios in trying to lay waste
to the country so that the insurgents cannot oc-
cupy it, the torturing of the natives by so-called
water cure and other methods, in order to ob-
tain information, the harsh treatment of natives
generally, and the failure of inexperienced lately
appointed lieutenants commanding posts to dis-
tinguish between those who are friendly and
those unfriendly, and treating every native as
if he were, whether or no, an insurrecto at heart,
this favorable sentiment above referred to. is
being fast destroyed and a deep hatred towards
us engendered. If these things need to be
done, they had best be done by native troops,
so that the people of the United States will not
be credited therewith.

Almost zvithoiit exception, soldiers and also
many officers, refer to the natives in th^eir pres-
ence as "niggers" and natives are beginning to
understand what the word "nigger" means. .,

As It Is in the Philippines. 103

The course now being pursued in this Prov-
ince and in the Provinces of Batangas, Laguna
and Saniar, is in my opinio sozving the seeds
for a perpetual revolution, or, at least, prepar-
ing the people of these Provinces to rise up
against us in revolution hereafter, whenever a
good opportunity offers. Under present con-
ditions the political situation in this Province
is slowly retrograding, and the American sen-
timent is decreasing and we are daily making
permanent enemies.

In the course above referred to, troops make
no distinction often between the property of
those persons who are insurgents and insur-
gent sympathizers, and the property of those who
have heretofore risked their lives by being loyal
to the United States and giving us information
against their countrymen in arms. Often every
house in a barrio is burned.

In my opinion, the small number of irrecon-
cilable insurgents still in arms, although admit-
tedly difficult to catch, does not justify the means
employed, especially when taking into considera-
tion the sufferings that must be undergone by
the innocent and the effect upon the relations with
these people hereafter.

The work of the Philippine Commission and
the laws that have been enacted by it, are every-
where favorably commented upon by the natives.
The efforts being made for the general educa-
tion of the people are appreciated by all. The
provincial government and the municipal govern-
ments established, are slowly bringing order out

104 As It Is in the Philippines.

of chaos and anarchy, and there begins to be
visible everywhere in this Province progress and
prosperity. True loyalty and contentment can
only come under a benign civil government.

The attitude of the army, thereby meaning
ftwst of its officers and soldiers, is, however, de-
cidedly hostile to the promncial and municipal
goT/ernment in this Province, and to civil govern-
ment in these Islands in general. In Manila es-
pecially it is intensely so, even among the higher
officers. The work of the Commission in the
establishment of provhtcial governments, is ridi-
culed, even in the presence of the natives. It
is openly stated that tlie army should remain in
charge for the next twenty years. Outrages
committed by officers or soldiers against natives
in an organised municipality or Province, when
reported by the presidente or governor, to the
military authorities, are often not punished. This
in my opinion, is unfortunate, because loyal na-
tives begin to fear that local self government
promised them, will not last long and that any
slight disturbance in a Proznnce may at any
time be made the pretext to again place it under
military rule, and this is just the thing the in-
surgents at heart, most desire.

It has been stated that a Filipino or any
Oriental does not appreciate just or kindly treat-
ment, and that he considers it an evidence of
weakness, and that severe and hars^ me^snT-es
are the only ones that are permanently effective
with Filipinos. I have found that just and kind
treatment, uniform and continued, is the only
way by which those people can be made per-

As It Is in the Philippines. 105

manently our friends and satisfied with United
States sovereignty.

Having been stationed six years on the Rio
Grande, I am well acquainted with the natives
of the State of Tamaulipas, Mexico, and while
stationed in the Province of Santa Clara, Cuba.
I visited every town in that Province, and was
able to observe the intelligence and education
there. I believe that the people of Tayabas Prov-
ince are in every way superior in education, in-
telligence and civilization to the people of Ta-
maulipas or Santa Clara.

As an officer of the army, I regret that my duty
as Civil Governor of this Province impels me
to state the attitude of the majority of my fel-
low officers towards civil government in the Is-
lands and its effect upon the people, but I feel
that the interests of the Government involved and
the future ol this people, for whose welfare we
are responsible, are of such vast importance that
I ought to report things as I see and know them,
in order that my civil superiors may be able
to order intelligently what the situation demands.
Very respectfully,
Your obedient servant,
Cornelius Gardener,
Major, 13th Infantry, U.S.A.

When this report became public an investigfa-
tion was immediately ordered and a court, of
which General Wint was the presiding officer, sat
for some months investigating the matter. Some
of the evidence taken was startling in the ex-

106 As It Is in the Philippines.

treme, as showing how absolutely and utterly
Major Gardener was fooled by the people as to
the conditions of his own Province. Insurgent
generals testified that they marched in and out of
Tayabas with large bodies of their troops, dur-
ing the time covered by the report, and General
Cailles testified that on one occasion he en-
tered a towTi and, in the public square executed a
number of men for treason to the Philippine Re-
public. General Malvar testified that Tayabas,
during all the troubles in Batangas that only re-
cently have ended, was used by him as a base of
supplies, and that the insurrecto agents were the
presidentes appointed by Major Gardener himself.
The investigation, if it elucidated nothing else,
should certainly force the present governors of
Provinces, those that are Americans, to endeavor
to discover the state of their Provinces by some
other means than that attempted by Major Gar-
dener. During the investigation, Major Gar-
dener apparently proved nothing of what he had
alleged, and, it is generally believed alleged in
good faith. He is recognized as an enthusiast
on the subject of the Filipino. In his opin-
ion the Filipino is more intelligent than the Mex-
ican, the Cuban or the natives of any of the South
American republics. He considers them the most
loyal, trustworthy, honest and reliable of men,

As It Is in the Philippines. 107

and he would invariably take the word of a Fil-
ipino before that of any white man.

The investigation developed the information
that during his entire term as Governor up to
the time when the report was presented to Gov-
ernor Taft, the whole Province, with the
possible exception of one town, was organized
by the insurrectos, and in the majority of cases
the American municipal and insurrecto agents
were the same persons, and where this was not
the case, they worked in perfect harmony with
one another.

Both in 1900 and 1901, the only places not
under insurrecto control were the towns garri-
soned by American troops.

No one, in 1900 and 1901, ever traveled with-
out an armed escort, including Major Gardener
himself. It was a state of guerilla warfare in
the Province until the end of General Bell's opera-
tions.

Every effort was made to get at the complete
truth of Major Gardener's wholesale charges, and
the court was moved from Tayabas to Batangas,
and from Batangas to Manila, so that witnesses
could be obtained. He did not give the names
of witnesses to General Chaffee or to the Board,
for the reason that he did not have any to give,
to prove his charges, and when he went down to

108 As It Is in the Philippines.

Tayabas at the commencement of the inquiry,
he had to grope around for help.

Major Gardener has admitted that he was very
much mistaken in the conditions existing in his
Province, and has tried to excuse his report
on the ground of haste. It is the almost unan-
imous opinion of every official, both civil and
military, that the statements contained in the
report were either false or very much colored.

CHAPTER X.

Facts Concerning the Real Condition in the Provinces
by a Former Civil Treasurer of Nueva Ecija.

There have been occasions when the author-
ities of the civil government have fallen out
among themselves. Most cases, the public, as
a rule, hear little about. In the case of Amzi
B. Kelly, Treasurer of the Province of Nueva
Ecija, a most interesting tale was unfolded to the
public, interesting as showing the real opinion
of those at work in the Provinces under the civil
government, and while their salaries are de-
pendent upon it, they are not only loyal and
faithful servants of the Government, but make
glowing reports which they know will please
the Commission, but which in many instances,
the majority of people not belonging in Govern-
ment employ, know to be either false or mis-
represented. Mr. Kelly is evidently an honest
man, if he is somewhat indiscreet. He discov-

110 As It Is in the Philippines.

ered what he considered to be a deliberate fraud
on the part of the native Governor, and public-
ly charged him with it, reporting it to the Com-
mission.

The Governor of the Province being an
influential man, the Commission did not de-
sire openly to take any action. They thought it
better under the circumstances to remove Mr.
Kelly to some other sphere of duty, but Mr.
Kelly strenuously objected to being transferred
and demanded a full investigation Sn public.
Thereupon the Commission removed him from
office. Mr. Kelly went to Manila and wrote
out his views on the subject for the public press,
and very interesting they proved to be, a thor-
ough exposure of things connected with the civil
government, by one of its employees. Of course,
allowances must be made for the fact that Mr.
Kelly was bitterly indignant at the treatment
he received, and his views are probably some-
what biased, but there is such a stamp of truth
in all of it, that, making due allowance for ex-
cessive indignation, Kelly's article should be ac-
cepted entire. It was published in the Manila
"American," a week or so after his dismissal from
office, that paper taking considerable risk of be-
ing charged with sedition and treason. Th& fol-
lowing is a copy of the article:

As It Is in the Philippines. Ill

Amzi B. Kielly, ex-Treasurer of the Prov-
ince of Nueva Ecija, believes that the Gov-
ernment is making a mistake in its methods of
governing the Islands. In an open letter, he
points out where he believes the Government's
policy is weak, and gives some good advice to
the Civil Commission. He brings to the atten-
tion of the public the grave charges which he
is prepared to prove against Governor Santos
of Nueva Ecija, who was retained while
the charges were impending. The letter,
together with affidavits in support of the charges
against Santos, follows:

Office of Amzi B. Kelly,
Attorney at Law.

AN OPEN LETTER

To President Theodore Roosevelt, Members
of the House of Representatives, and the Amer-
ican Public ; also the Acting Civil Governor, Hon-
orable Luke E. Wright and the Members of the
United States Philippine Commission, who on
May i6th, 1902, dismissed me as Treasurer of
the Province of Nueva Ecija, for the reason that
I had made charges affecting the character and
integrity of Epifanio de los Santos, Provincial

112 As It Is in the Philippines.

Governor of Nueva Ecija, and that I then and
there branded him as an infamous rascal, and
unworthy to longer continue as Provincial
Governor and stood ready and eager to prove
my assertions.

The object of this letter, is to right a wrong,
vindicate the honor of my country for the ben-
efit of the people of this whole Archipelago,
especially the ignorant and the poor, and I in-
tend to fearlessly, frankly and honestly explain
through the press, through letter, and if neces-
sary, in the lecture hall and upon the stump,
the true conditions, as they exist in the Prov-
inces in the Philippine Islands, the terrible con-
dition of the poor people and the unwise policy
and acts of the present United States Philippine
Commissioners, and their apparent total disre-
gard of the rights, liberties and good of the
masses of the people, to turn full upon their
heads the weight of their bad judginent; and
to show up in all its ridiculousness their weak
policy. And further to show to all the world
that when I stated that de los Santos, Provincial
Governor of Nueva Ecija, was a rascal and cor-
rupt official, and that his retention in office and
my dismissal was a fatal blow at good govern-
ment, a bad example for the people of this whole
Archipelago and a disgrace to the name of Amer-

As It Is in the Philippines. 113

ica, that I spoke the truth, and nothing but
the truth, so help me God. And, I now add
to that statement, that such unwise acts by the
members of the Commission may be the begin-
ning of their end. Not of the end of a strong
minded Commission, but the end of the present
apparently weak uninformed members of the
Philippine Commission of this day. I unhes-
itatingly concede to Luke E. Wright, Bernard
Moses, Henry C. Ide and Dean C. Worcester,
honor and integrity. But they have not left
the impression that they are men of good judg-
ment and strong mind, needed at this critical day
and time to govern these Islands.

From out your palace windows you view' these
Islands. Those who meet your gaze— clad in
white collars, white clothes and patent leather
shoes — sail swiftly by in carromattas, calesins
and victorias. In your office and in the legisla-
tive hall you meet only the bowing and scraping,
college-bred hombres, those who have done more
than all else to drench this land with blood,
and to-day still stand masters of the situation.

Come with me into the Provinces. Visit the
barrios and the cocoanut groves, the rice fields
and the fishing ponds, — there you will find the
masses and majority of the people in this land.
There you will find the hombres behind the guns.

114 As It Is in the Philippines.

Those with whom you deal are the men behind
these hombres, — have a talk with these old
bullies, — they know naught of Spanish, less of
English ; honest, ignorant, timid, poor, barefooted
and ignobly clad. For three hundred years they
have been dominated over by this sace' rico ele-
ment ; have obeyed without a murmur their every
command, perjured their souls in hell at their be-
hest, sacrificed their daughters upon the unclean
altar of lust. Why? They knew that to refuse
meant prison, torture and death, and the same
condition exists to-day, and that too, under the
banner of fredom. Listen and I'll prove it. Not
with words from my own lips, but with quota-
tions from the sworn statements of seven of these
poor, ignorant people, and which you could have
learned by an investigation of ten minutes, or
taken the word of an honest American.

I hold in my possession the sworn affidavits
of six poor men and one illiterate woman, whose
names are : Candelaria de los Angeles, Norverto
Cajucom, Pablo Mauricio, IMariano Castro, Es-
teban Hilario, Isaac Cauman and Cecilio Hur-
gues, residents of Cabanatuan, to the effect that
this man, whom you call the Hon. Epifanio de
los Santos, and whose character and integrity
you dismissed me for assailing, while Provincial
Treasurer of this Province, forced them to come

As It Is in the Philippines. 115

into San Isidro, and in his residence sign a
forged and false will. They will tell you, too,
under oath, that he wrote on a slip of paper for
each of them what he knew to be an infamous
lie, and told them, if they did not swear it was
the truth, before the Judge of First Instance,
that he would place them in jail. They will tell
you also tliat during this last month of May,
while I was in Manila, working for the better-
ment of these people, and his dismissal, that he,
as Governor of this Province, was instructing
them and attempting by intimidation to again get
them to perjure their souls in hell, by swearing
that there was but one will, and that
was the false one which he made, or had made.
That ignorant old woman will tell you under
oath that she paid him 800 pesos for "paper,
ink and trouble," that she gave him in his hands
600 pesos, and gave to Ramon Tombo, his hire-
ling, 200 pesos; she will further tell you that
he told her and these old hombres that this forged
document was nothing but a copy, and that there
was no harm in what they were doing. She will
also tell you that she employed a Filipino law-
yer in Manila to defend her, and that he came
to this Province supposedly in her interest and
that he instructed her to swear that there was
but one will — while he held in his hand two,

116 As It Is in the Philippines.

the original and the false. She will tell you
that at ten o'clock, one night, under guard, she
went to the residence of Amzi B. Kelly, and in
the presence of his wife and Mr. Wilson, told
him in broken Spanish that she had "much sus-
picion" for her lawyer, and, placing her two
fingers together, timidly showed us how he and
Santos stood.

These old hombres will tell you that they too
had employed this same attorney — an ex-school-
mate of Santos — ^but when he instructed them to
swear there was but one will, when they knew
that they had signed two as witnesses, and that
they, too, had "much suspicion," and denounced
in open court, trembling with fear, they told the
Judge of First Instance that they wanted an
American attorney to defend them.

Did you say "Hurry along," gentlemen? No.
Come to my residence, in San Isidro, and I will
show you a sacred last will and testament made
by old Petra Marian, dated, July 27th, 1900.
It is signed by ten people as witnesses. Right
by the side of that I will place before your eyes
the copy, or false will made by, or by the direc-
tion of your beloved Santos, and dated, March
4th, T901. It is signed by only six people- as wit-
nesses, and one of these did not sign the original.

"Hurry along !" No, be patient ; that is not all.

»^f.

As It Is in the Philippines. 117

I will show you a death certificate signed by the
padre of Cabanatuan, and bearing his seal, which
states that this poor old woman died July 28th,

1900, and was buried and received all the sacra-
ments, July 29th, 1900. Right by the side of
that, I will place another death certificate, signed
by this same padre, but without his seal, and
doubtless made by Santos or his hirelings, stat-
ing that this same old woman died March 7th,

1901, and was buried and received all the sacra-
ments March 8th, 1901. Now what do you think
of that? This old woman died, was buried, and
received all the sacraments in July, 1900. Then
she waited a year and went through the same
performance. In addition to that, July, 1900,
she made her will, died and was buried, remained
in mother earth for a year; then arose, made
a copy of this will and dated it, March 4th,
1 90 1. That's what Santos says, and as the pa-
pers were gotten from his hands, it must be so,
and Santos is an "honorable man" so it appears,
says Luke E. Wright and the members of the
Commission. After seeing this, there is but one
of three conclusions, namely: Nueva Ecija has
produced a remarkable old woman or a more re-
markable old padre; or a most remarkable old
governor, and I'm inclined that the latter con-
clusion will hit the nail square on the head. Now,

118 As It Is in the Philippines.

is not this a nasty mess? Haven't you discern-
ment enough to see that in your bunglesome and
weak endeavor to keep peace, you have been the
cause of subordinating peace?

And what you have read is not all of his ras-
cality, but God knows, it is enough at present.
Did some one say, "Why don't you swear out
a warrant for his arrest?" No!!! As repre-
sentative of the civil government, I did that
in this Province, and had put on trial, before this
Filipino judge as guilty a man as ever faced
the bar of Justice. He was turned foot loose.
No, I do not wish to have him put in jail. It
might interfere with his term as governor. I
wish him to reign in all his rottenness so the
little children of this Province can point their
innocent little fingers at him, and exclaim: "Be-
hold there is our governor, the ward of the Fed-
eral party, the pet of the Commission and the
blot of infamy upon the cheek of Columbia."

This is the same class of hombre and his in-
famous associates, who for three centuries have
intimidated, abused, oppressed and enslaved the
masses of these people; the ones who in the in-
surrection against the Americans, placed arms
into the hands of these ignorant hombres and by
sheer force of intimidation and threats of tor-
ture compelled them to fight and die like rats

As It Is in the Philippines. 119

in the trenches before my countrymen. I say
to you to-day, that if insurrection, revolt and re-
bellion against the American Government is ever
to cease, it will be when every living- one of
these poor men and women are instructed and
shown positively that they, too, though ignorant
and barefooted, are creatures of Almighty God,
and that they are not compelled to bow to the
behest of this high element and slavishly obey
their every command. When we show to them
upon every occasion, by example and by our ac-
tions that whenever the humblest of all that
mighty host informs the officials or any citizen
of the American Government, that a Filipino or
American clothed with the garb of official ca-
pacity, this man of wealth, power and influence,
is a rascal, corrupt or oppressive, that then and
there stands at their backs for their protection
and defense, eighty-five million Americans, ev-
ery foot of that sunny soil, every dollar, silver,
gold and paper in that American treasury, every
soldier and every gun that we can muster, every
pound of ammunition that is in our arsenals, and
every boat of our mighty navy is at their ser-
vice, demanding and compelling an investiga-
tion, and if what they say be true of this man of
power, no matter what his position or wealth, he
will then and there be tried, convicted, and if

120 As It Is in the Philippines.

necessary hanged — then, and not until then,
can you safely sheath the sword and wield the
pen.

What great lesson have these poor people been
given in this regard by the actions of the Philip-
pine Commission in the Nueva Ecija scandal?
There I stood, an American, my honor and in-
tegrity unquestioned, my record unchallenged,
thinking of the honor of my country and the bet-
terment of those people above all else, conscien-
tiously and with all the power that God gave
me, denouncing as an infamous rascal the gov-
ernor of this Province, begging and pleading that
an investigation be made, and if what I said be
true, that he be dismissed and no longer allowed
to stand as the highest official in this
Province; a damnable blot and an infamous ex-
ample to the youth, children and ignorant poor
of this land, and what was the result?

"He may be, Mr. Kelly, all that you say he
is, but we wish you to transfer. Harmony can-
not longer exist in that junta with you and he in
it."

"But, my dear governor, you must remove
the inharmonious key. Well, but, Mr. Kelly,
we don't wish any ladrones to take their guns
and go to the mountains in that Province; we will
investifrate him later."

As It Is in the Philippines. 121

Did ever grown men clothed with the power
of the governorship of a country suggest and
later carry in execution such an injudicious act?
Rather than make an investigation of ten min-
utes, they allow a rascal to remain in
the position as governor and dismiss an
honest treasurer. In reply to that, I frankly
tell you, "Of course, you did not know
it." And that is one of the strongest reasons
why I say that your administration of affairs
demonstrates the weakness of this government,
— it is your business to know it; you approve
the appointment, election of these governors and
treasurers, and the Filipino and American people
hold you personally responsible for their conduct
and their character. They may excuse you, as
they have often had to do before, for putting a
rascal in an official position when you did not
know it. But when they read over my letter,
later my telegram, then my words before you, on
May i6th, and then investigate the records of
your palace and find therein, in addition to my
honest statements, sworn affidavits as to the ras-
cality of this man, which had been on file at
least two months, they will never excuse you for
such a blunder.

The words that you said to me in regard to the
Province of Nueva Ecija, may yet be hurled back

122 As It Is in the Philippines.

in your face by eighty million freemen: "Your
services, gentlemen, as far as the government
of the Philippine Islands is concerned, are at
an end." "The day of your destiny is o'er and
the star of your fate hath declined."

By your actions you are judged. You dare
not deny that your policy keeps in office cor-
rupt officials, for by the grace of God, you have
done the deed. Nay, more ! You have not only
placed in official positions in the Philippine Is-
lands men who are notoriously corrupt, but you
have actually dismissed an honest official in or-
der to retain in power and position such a one,
and why have you done this ?

In order to carry out a weak policy you fool-
ishly listened to the whisperings of the party fed-
eral. They tell you, "Gentlemen, this man
whom Mr. Kelly has denounced, is an influential
man in the Province of Nueva Ecija, and his dis-
missal just at this time may cause his followers to
take their guns and go to the mountains."

And what do you do? You tremble in your
boots. You know in your hearts the man is
corrupt, but for fear that you hear again the
crack of the Krag-Jorgensen and the Mauser, you
timidly ask the honest man to transfer, and later
foolishly dismiss him and retain in office a cor-
rupt and infamous official. And why? Because

As It Is in the Philippines. 123

you are pigmies and not giants, because you are
absolutely ignorant of affairs as they exist in the
Provinces.

What would the strenuous Roosevelt have said
and done (he who purified the New York po-
lice force) to these influential federalists? We
all know that he would have reached out that
strong iron hand, grabbed the gentleman by the
back of the neck, slammed him up against the
wall, and in words of fire, told him "Quedao,
hombre! If you are here to assist in the gov-
ernment of this country, and to make suggestions
for the betterment of your people, I'm with you.
But if you're here to attempt to foolishly influ-
ence me, retain in office a rascal and back up
your damnable suggestion by the statement that if
I do not do it, there is liable to be another
war, I'll tell you frankly, as a represent-
ative of the American people, that we
prefer war to dishonor, and that the of-
ficial of the American Government, not in Amer-
ica, but in Porto Rico, Hawaii and the Philip-
pine Islands, stands flat-footed and uncompromis-
ingly for honest and upright servants. And
whenever you and your followers wish to revolt
against this policy, and take to the mountains,
the bars are down and the gates are open, and
I'll put an army of Americans in that Filipino

124 As It Is in the Philippines.

field, and in less than three months they will
wipe you and all your busy tribe of mischief
makers off the face of the earth."

That is the kind of talk we want as members
of the Philippine Commission. We've got 'em
in America, and we demand 'em in the Philip-
pines. The people of this country are weak ; the
government shall and must be strong. This
smoothing over and excusing of rascality is non-
sense and un-American. You cannot stop this
rotten Filipino bull by grabbing him by the
tail ; you've got to take him by the horns. This
winking and blinking at corruption has got to
cease and the time for action is now. This dilly-
dally policy is a disgrace to our country and an
infamous example, and if we cannot to-day peace-
ably fire out every one of these corrupt officials,
from police to governor, I, for one favor their
dismissal, even though the very imps of hell rise
in revolt. Why wait for two or five years hence ?
The issue has got to come ; our swords are sharp,
our arsenals filled with ammunition; our guns
cleaned, our colors yet uncased, our men used
to hiking, their eyes and hands are better trained
to-day than they will be then.

Down with corrupt officials.

Up with honest men.

Out with the weak commissioners.

As It Is in the Philippines. 125

In with strong-minded men.

Your argument and preaching without prac-
tice amounts to naught. You "spare the rod,
you spoil the child." You must shape your rules
of government and put into vogue the policy
which effects and makes better the majority of
the people of a country. You cannot make your
laws and your rules of government to be in
conformity with the high standard and intel-
ligence of the few ; you must set into force and
put into execution that rule which will be best
understood and appreciated by the masses of the
people. In every school room under the Amer-
ican flag, the master therein has under him one
or two high-minded, intelligent little fellows, but
the majority of his chaps are mischievous and
bad. He makes the rules and hangs over the
desk the rod not for the betterment of those
good boys, but for the punishment of the bad
ones. Your policy, gentlemen, is only understood
by the few. The masses of these people cannot
comprehend your ideas when you put into a po-
sition a corrupt man and excuse his rascality.
They know it's wrong and they think that it is
pull, power, wealth and influence that retains
such a one in official capacity — and in the light
of my American training, I am inclined to the
same view. I lay it down as a proposition that

126 As It Is in the Philippines.

every time you place in jail one bad hombre,
you keep out ten ; that every time you tan the hide
of one mischievous kid, you save the elbow grease
that would have later been required in the train-
ing of the hide of twenty more. You do not
comprehend the magnitude of the situation. You
have no conception of the habits, customs and
natures of the masses of these people. You are
unquestionably the most gloriously hood-winked
body of intelligent men with whom I have ever
come in contact. Outside of your immediate
associates and those who depend upon you for
their bread and meat, and those whose interests
it is to influence, there is not one American, either
soldier or civilian, who does not heartily con-
demn your policy and laugh at your ignorance
of the situation. I have yet to meet one intel-
ligent army officer or American, who has been
in this country for any length of time, who does
not laugh at your laws, ridicule your actions
and pity your weak endeavors.

Is this retention and smoothing over of pub-
lic officials your only display of bad judgment?
It certainly is not. You have foolishly passed
your "sedition law." It serves only as a protec-
tion for the corrupt officials of this Philippine
country. Even the strongest of us fears to turn
on the light, and yet this is a land of dungeons.

As It Is in the Philippines. 127

darkness and underhand work. The masses of
the people are practically slaves, timidly afraid
to say aught against their masters, even with-
out this law. It should be the reverse. Criti-
cism of public officials should be encouraged, for
of all the lands under God's great heavens, there
is none where the mighty light of reason, right
and argument needs more to be turned on, where
it is so necessary to separate the good from the
bad, publicly condemn the wrong and strongly
defend the right, bolster up and encourage the
good, fire out and hang the bad.

All sedition laws from the beginning of time
will never keep those people from revolt and
rebellion; you cannot keep a human being from
fighting for his rights, by making laws which
only bridle his tongue in public and make his
words more eloquent in secret. Your oppression
adds fuel to the fire of liberty, begets pity in
the hearts of his countrymen and "pity is akin
to love," and what won't a man do for love of
his f ellowman ?

You must repeal your sedition law and say
in words of fervid honesty in every dialect
throughout this Archipelago: "The American
Government fears not your criticisms. Turn all
your batteries upon us, and we will show you
by our manly, honest, upright and straightfor-

128 As It Is in the Philippines.

ward administration of affairs here, that it is
the government of and for the people, the strong-
est defender of the weak, the breaker of the
chains of slavery, the friend of the poor and the
educator of the masses."

I maintain that out of the thirteen million
people in the Philippine Islands, there are
eight million of them worse slaves to-day, more
abused and oppressed than were the negroes
of the sunny South, and especially lay it down,
that the man or men, government or power that
breaks this domineering influence, that tears
asunder those chains of slavery for all this mighty
host, that they and their children will love, honor
and respect that man, men or government, and
that their hands will never be raised in revolt
against those who gave them their freedom
and their inherited rights as children of Almighty
God. Go into the sunny South to-day, and you
will hear the big-mouthed negro loudly exclaim
that "Them Yankees don't know nothin' 'bout
us niggers; that the Southern folk is our best
friends ;" but go into Sambo's house, and if on
his wall you behold a picture, 'twill be that of
old Abe Lincoln; and follow all the Sambos
on a presidential election day and you'll see
they cast a solid Republican vote. Why is this?
Because imprinted in his black heart is the name

As It Is in the Philippines. 129

and noble deeds of Lincoln, and in his memory
is engraven forever the name of the party
and men that gave him his freedom.

If ever America is to govern this land in
peace and harmony, it will be when she, not by
the enactment of sedition laws, but by some
grand and noble method, touches the human
chord of the masses of these people and actually
does an act for which Almighty God will bless
the American nation, and the angels in heaven
will sing, "Peace on earth ; good will to all Amer-
icans." No people will ever revolt against gov-
ernment, when the laws of that government
are benevolently and justly administered. I say
to you to place over these people kind and benev-
olent governors, conscientious and just judges;
firm and honest fiscals ; it will then be in vain
for the mischief makers to again raise these
people against the American government. They
might as well attempt to convince a loving child
that the homage and attachment which he renders
to a fond parent, is but a debasing servitude.

Let us view your unwise act of only a few days
ago, which is proof positive that you know ab-
solutely nothing or do not care to know of the
conditions in the Provinces, and less of the char-
acters of the men into whose hands you place
power.

130 As It Is in the Philippines.

Take Act No. 413, where you put the gov-
ernors of the Provinces in possession of the keys
of the provincial jails and give them full con-
trol and management of the prisoners. As one
who has served as Provincial Treasurer in the
Provinces and knows the situation as it exists, I
tell you that in nine Provinces out of ten where
there are Filipino governors, under your policy,
you might just as well bind hand and foot the
poor people of those Provinces and place at their
throat, with an open knife, a raving maniac. By
this act alone you have torn down the Declara-
tion of Independence, crushed in the hand the
Goddess of Liberty, and you have placed in the
hands of these unscrupulous men, the most fear-
ful weapon which will be used by the majority of
them to abuse, oppress and intimidate the peo-
ple, advance the interests of friends and punish
enemies, as has been done in this Province, and
is being done to-day. Mark the prediction ! Un-
less this government is promptly made stronger
in less than a year, the power that those men
will have gained on account of that act will stand
them in good stead, and they will again cause
an insurrection in this country.

Ask any officer or soldier who has served in
this country for two weeks during the insurrec-
tion, and he will tell you that the majority of

As It Is in the Philippines. 131

these barefooted hombres were forced into the
trenches and on the battle field and there killed;
and yet they knew not and cared less whether the
governing power in Manila was Spain or Por-
tugal, England or America. Seldom indeed has
there been found in the trenches one of these shod
hombres ; but he was then like he is to-day — what
the power behind the throne made him. I have
had no less than twenty Filipinos tell me, since the
passage of this law, that it was the worst thing
that could have been done for the poor people of
those Islands ; and further, from the lips of intelli-
gent army officers, soldiers, civilians and intelli-
gent Filipinos, I have been told time and time
again that the Americans are not in control of this
government, but are being influenced and are
ministering aflFairs according to the dictates of
the party federal.

Another thing in regard to your provincial
governors that strikes me as more comical than
serious, is that the Governor is the highest and
most honored man in the Province. Yet in the
same act, being sheriff, he is also the hangman.
That has always struck me as ridiculous, and
so it did Ricardo Paras, Governor of Marinduque.
The arresting of criminals and taking part in the
petty feuds and quarrels of the gente should be
beneath the Governor of a Province. Impar-

132 As It Is in the Philippines.

tially and dignifiedly he should reign over his
people. You place him in a very awkward posi-
tion by making him the executor of the orders
of the court. The business of arresting, care and
management of criminals and prisoners should
be placed in the hands of the police or constabu-
lary. A Governor should under no condition
be compelled to take part in such affairs. It is
beneath his dignity.

Take the public schools of this country, of
which we so loudly boast. The system of these
schools is faulty and radically wrong.

You have brought to this country, at great ex-
pense, hundreds of most excellent men and wom-
en, whose noblest ambition, while on their way out
here, had been raised to the highest pitch, and
who to-day are disheartened and discouraged,
and are set down in some pueblo with a tyran-
nical, impudent and lazy presidente who gives no
assistance whatever to the teacher, and who in
his official capacity is a detriment to the progress
of these schools. First and foremost, the man-
agement of these schools, the appointment of the
teachers and the salaries thereof should be abso-
lutely free and independent from the presidentes
and ignorant con j ales. I'll venture the assertion
that seven Filipino teachers out of ten in this
Archipelago are presumably drawing, say twenty-

HON. A. W. FERGUSSON.
Executive Secretary of the Philippine Commission.

As It Is in the Philippines. 133

five pesos, when in fact they receive only fifteen
or eighteen pesos, the remainder going into the
jeans of the presidente or some of the conjales.
"Well, we did not know or We don't know that
that condition exists." Of course you do not. I
dare you to make an investigation or ask the
teachers. It does exist and to a shameful degree.
It was done in the Province of Marinduque un-
der me and it is done to-day in the Province of
Nueva Ecija, and what is true of these Provinces
is doubtless true of the rest. These American
teachers are too intelligent and too necessary,
this day and time, during this unorganized con-
dition of affairs, to be set down in a bamboo shack
teaching a kid A, B, C. There are about one-
tenth of the children in this Archipelago receiving
the benefits of these schools, and they are the
sons and daughters of the rich and prominent
people, whose parents are amply able to send
them to Manila. In San Isidro there are about
three hundred children going to school, when
there should be at least two thousand. The same
condition exists in Cabanatuan of this Province.
In fact, it exists in every barrio and pueblo in
this Archipelago. The majority of the sons and
daughters of the ignorant poor only view "the
little red school house" from the outside, and I
will venture the assertion that there are 75 per-

134 As It Is in the Philippines.

cent of the people who do not even know
that they are entitled to send their children to
school, and in many instances, doubtless, are in-
structed by some of these presidentes and in-
fluential hombres that the public schools are not
for them.

What will relieve this condition of affairs?
What will place in the San Isidro schools two
thousand children instead of three hundred?
Simply this : Instead of making your intelligent
American teachers subordinate to presidentes,
divide your Provinces into districts, place at the
head of that district an intelligent American
teacher, give him the power to appoint every
teacher and to set their salaries. Frame your
laws so that the council will have to pay them or
turn the money over to the chief of the district,
and let him be a paymaster. Then enact a
law making him somewhat the father and pro-
tector of all the children within that district, be-
tween certain ages, rich and poor alike.

Frame your law so that he will have authority
to go into the homes of these people and kindly
but plainly tell them that it is the law of this land
that every male and female child between certain
ages is required to attend that school which is
nearest their domicile. I am not wedded to the
policy of compulsory education, but I am em-

As It Is in the Philippines. 135

phatically in faVor of education, and it strikes me
that if Governors of Provinces can force grown
men to swear lies against their will, and pres-
identes have the power and use it, to make igno-
rant men come in from the barrios in crowds of
twenty or thirty to build their homes without
pay, that a noble and kind-hearted American
teacher would not be overstepping the bounds of
propriety if he forced ignorant children to do
an act which can only result beneficially to them-
selves, their parents and their country. Make
your American teacher the general and in-
structor of the Filipino teachers. Your system in
vogue to-day, as far as benefit to the masses of
the children is concerned and the labor of your
American teachers, is wasted on the desert air.
You have an American foolishly teaching one
child his A, B, C, while he should be in truth
superintending the instruction of two thousand
in these letters.

"Well," you will say, "but we have not enough
American teachers to teach this number of chil-
dren English." I'm well aware of that fact, and
am not one of those who foolishly think that
if a child cannot be taught the English language
he should be taught nothing. I lay it down as
a proposition that if you start in to-day and teach
two thousand children the Spanish language for

136 As It Is in the Philippines.

a period of two years, that at the expiration of
that time you will have done more good for these
people and this country, and the masses of them
will have a wider general knowledge of this
world's history and be more capable of assisting
in this government than they will be at the ex-
piration of five years under this present system.

I am sure that if the Father in Heaven were
to bless my home with a child I would a thousand
times prefer that little one to read the Book of
God and the Declaration of Independence in the
Chinese or Spanish language than not to read
them at all. If we are short on English teachers,
we must not foolishly stop or slow up the wheels
of education. These teachers should be teaching
an army of children instead of a battalion. When
confronted by two evils, we must accept the
lesser.

The children of this country must be
taught the knowledge of God. the grandeur
of a government and the beauties of liberty. If
unable to teach him the Word of God, I would
train his little lips to whisper his prayers to Dios ;
if unable to pronounce Liberty, I would teach
him "libertad." We must not lose sight of the
fact that the main question at issue in this par-
ticular is education, knowledge and information.
If we cannot give them these by the English

As It Is in the Philippines. 137

route, then let us by all means impart it to them
by the Spanish or Tagalog-. In feeding the starv-
ing multitude you do not necessarily have to
place their food in a silver spoon in order to fill
their empty stomachs. Let them put it in with
their hands or sticks, but get it in. "Do not prize
the vehicle above its precious freight!"

It is far better for this land that ten thousand
children know and appreciate the word "honest-
idad" than that only one thousand know and pro-
nounce the word "honesty." Your school sys-
tem, gentlemen, is only reaching the favored few.
"Well, but that is not our intention." I willingly
admit that, but you are doing the deed. Why?
Want of knowledge of the true conditions of af-
fairs, and unwillingness to take the word of your
honest, true and tried American lieutenants.

While upon the subject, let me pass a few re-
marks on the foolish bar that has been placed in
the case of every American lawyer; no matter
what his credentials or abilities are, he must first
spend three or four months studying the three
codes, and then attempt to pass a fixed or prej-
udiced board before he is able to argue a point
upon the same codes before a judge who himslf
has not been required to go up against it and
who could not in less time pass the examination.

This I consider not only unjust, but it staves

138 As It Is in the Philippines.

out for a while men who just at this time
are very badly needed in the building up of this
country. There are many excellent young bar-
risters in America who would, if this bar was
down, which it will be, come to the Philippines,
scatter themselves about in the different Prov-
inces and larger pueblos, and there they would
stand as guardian angels to the ignorant, poor
and oppressed of this country, and as doubtless
most of them would soon learn the Tagalog lan-
guage, they would soon be the most powerful de-
fenders of this government. While making their
living, they would in truth be eye-openers to all
of these people. They are the moulders of gov-
ernments— I do not mean shysters and carpet-
baggers, but honest, upright young men who
would come to this land to live and die. and stand
ready and willing to sacrifice their lives, prop-
erty and sacred honor for this, the home of their
adoption. It is dollars to doughnuts that if each
Province had two such men in it, in less than six
months 90 percent of legal abuses and corrup-
tion would disappear ; the poor would soon learn
that America is a government of and for the
people; their presence, independence and manly
courage would put the fear of God into the hearts
of every Filipino judge in this Archipelago. And
under their watchful eye your beloved fiscals

As It Is in the Philippines. 139

would "sige derecho" or get off the earth. They
would also be a strong incentive to every pro-
vincial and municipal official to "hands off" and
"go right." By all means these empire build-
ers should be let in free of duty, and without an-
other examination. It is not so much a knowledge
of the law of this land that we need, as it is obe-
dience to it, and honest and courageous men.

You need only refer to the beginning of this
and you can get an idea of what a poor client
can expect when confronting a rich one. Let
them in, but, let me caution you before you do
this, that you had better retire or change your
policy. For if this land is ever blessed with
about one or two thousand honest, intelligent
barristers, in the language of to-day, "they won't
do a thing to you." They will line their guns
of argument and reason upon your present pol-
icy and force you to either change it, or quit
the land.

Now let us take a peep into the purity of puri-
ties, the land of Filipino judges and fiscals.
Now, somewhere in his book on evidence, Mr.
Greenleaf informs us that there are some facts
so generally and universally known, that the
court is forced to take cognizance of them, and
I believe that the corruption of a large part of
this outfit will not have to be proven, or at least,

140 As It Is in the Philippines.

that they are easily influenced. And let me say
once for all, that I am not one of those prej-
udiced, narrow-minded Americans who come in
contact with a thieving muchacho and a rascally
Governor and then wildly exclaim : "All Filipinos
are naturally corrupt, dishonest, and bad." It's
their nature and you can't change it. "It's
costumbre." I do not believe that all Filipinos
are thieves, bad or corrupt. My belief in my fel-
lowman and supreme confidence in Almighty
God, demand that I brand that statement as
false and unfounded. The all-wise Providence
did not place upon this earth thirteen million
man beings, natural liars, thieves and scoundrels,
and then take Moses on Mount Zion, and upon
the table of stone, with his divine fingers, inscribe
thereon the ten commandments. He did not make
these human souls naturally so that they were
unable to follow and comprehend his divine
teachings. That is an infamous lie upon the
Deity.

That there are too many Filipinos who
seem to know little of the divine commandments
and apparently care less, I willingly admit, and
I am inclined to the opinion that the recent ac-
tion of the Sages of the Commission is not cal-
culated to cause those in high position to take
cognizance thereof, — it is not necessary for the

As It Is in the Philippines. 141

public service. As long as you are a member of the
federal party in good standing, you are sure of
your job, or, as Santos remarked, braggadocio,
when he learned of my dismissal, "Had there
been ten treasurers fighting me, they would have
all gone out." Or in other words, it requires
eleven honest treasurers to oust one dishonest
Governor. Show me a people, white or black,
red or yellow, who have for long years been
enslaved, mistreated, abused, and practically
kicked and cuffed around, and no confidence
placed in them, and I will show you a people
with the same characteristics as those in this Ar-
chipelago.

First and foremost, you must let the Filipino
know that we have confidence in his intelligence,
ability and honesty. Give him every position that
it is possible for him to fill, in this, his home
by right divine, then treat him just as you do
the Americans. Don't crown him a king and
then only accord him respect due to a slave.
Don't make him a Governor of his people and
then excuse his damned rascality on the flimsy
pretext that he a weakling, or that for three hun-
dred years his ancestors have been engaged in
the same kind of business.

The individual, be he Filipino, American or

142 As It Is in the Philippines.

Chino, knows beyond the peradventure of a
doubt, right from wrong.

Here, gentlemen, is where you plainly show
that you are not masters of the situation, that
you know naught of human nature. The best
study of Man is Mankind. It is this foolish
policy of placing intelligent Filipinos in posi-
tions of power and trust, admitting that they
have sufficient wisdom to preside in questions
of life and death, and then deliberately turn
round and with one fell swoop tear down your
Solomon built by your own hands, and excuse
him for doing an act that even his muchacho
knows is wrong. And that, gentlemen, is the
reason why the natives say, "Los Commissioners

mucho fools ; no sabe Filipinos," and them's

my sentiments, too.

You are dead wrong; you are woefully in-
consistent; your judgment is bad, your policy
childish, and you are being laughed at every
day by the people you excuse. Let me give
you a little sound advice in regard to handling
these native judges, governors and fiscals, and
you had better take it and put it into execu-
tion. If you do not, sooner or later, your pres-
ent policy will simply force other men to fire
bodily every Filipino Governor, Judge and Fis-
cal in this Island and supplant them by Amer-

As It Is in the Philippines. 143

leans, which, frankly, I do not wish to see. This
is the Filipino's land and I, for one, wish to
see him given preference over all comers, if he
is equally honest and capable. Establish a cer-
tain standard of morals and official conduct;
tell your native judges, governors and fiscals:
"In clothing you with authority and position,
the American Government places in you unlim-
ited confidence. Quidao, hombre. If you step
one foot to right or left, and follow any path
save the straight and narrow, off goes your head.

"This business of oppressing your enemies
and favoring your friends will not work for
one minute ; this stuff about your three hundred
years of false training is all tommy-rot. If
you've got brains enough to be a judge, a gov-
ernor or a fiscal, you have brains enough to be
honest and to distinguish right from wrong. If
you haven't, you had better bestride a carabao
and take to the rice paddies."

Not only give them good solid advice like
that, but put men on their trail ; watch 'em
like hawks and the first time they go wrong,
fire 'em bodily, and if they are criminally guilty,
try them and put them in Bilibid. Do that and
I will stake my life on it that at the end of
1903, you will have more Filipino judges, than

144 As It Is in the Philippines.

by the present policy, at the expiration of that
time.

The American administration, whether Repub-
lican or Democratic, Populist or Prohibitionist,
is not going to allow or stand for corrupt pub-
lic officials anywhere, especially in this land,
where we are told the hand of God placed us.
You must separate the good from the bad. The
Almighty set you the example when he rail-
roaded Satan and all his imps to hell, and it
strikes me that what was deemed necessary in
heaven for the proper government of angels,
might cut some ice if put into force among our
little brown friends. I emphatically maintain
that it is far better for this country and an ex-
ample for the youth that we have one honest,
upright judge, than forty rotten and corrupt ones.

You show plainly your lack of wisdom, both
going and coming, in this proposition. Let me
ask you, in all candor, will you kindly inform
me what business you have putting into such
important positions, such brainless idiots, men
who are just and wise enough to sit as judges
and sentence their fellowmen to death, yet don't
know right from wrong ? Great God ! ! Was
there ever such a bunglesome piece of work done
by bearded men, — men who are far enough ad-
vanced to reign as Governors over thousands

As It Is in the Philippines. 145

of people, but must be excused when they
do an act that ought to place them in
jail. In all candor, were I a member of your
Commission and had assisted in such a foolish
policy, no man would have to ask for my retire-
ment. I would pack my trunk, strike my tent
and like the proverbial Arab, quietly but quickly
steal away.

You have not advanced in knowledge and
made good use of your time. Like the
favorites in a race, you have made a beautiful
start; the grandstand applauded you madly;
you have been on the track now a year, and all
eyes are turned upon you, looking for the re-
sult, and I can assure you that no one has hoped
for your success any more than the writer. It
is of little importance who sets the pace in a
race; it is the horse that comes under the wire
first that wins. You are far from it. God knows
and I know that you have done your best, but
you have erred and erred grievously. You have
been followers instead of leaders. In your en-
deavors to pay attention to the customs of this
land, you have been led astray; you must pay
heed to the well-known good customs of a coun-
try, but not to the bad ones. The teachings
of Almighty God in the ten command-
ments, were given to all men. Judge these

146 As It Is in the Philippines.

people under these divine commandments, and
when they violate any or even one of them,
when you fail to punish them severely, you ac-
cept a fall into a bad custom which can only
result detrimentally to the people of the coun-
try.

Now let us take a passing shot at the Policia
Municipal ; and in discussing this, I will not say
that you are ignorant or uninformed, for I am
absolutely positive that even you know of the
rottenness, wholesale corruption and general no-
accountedness of the municipal police, not of one
pueblo, but of every one in this Archipelago.
Ride up to the house of any presidente. A
policeman will hold your horse; go inside, one
will take your hat and cane; orderwzwei beers
and a pretzel and another will bring it; take
dinner with the presidente, one will wait upon
the table; look into the kitchen and you will
see one or two therein cooking your meals.
Every month many thousands of dollars are paid
out foolishly for police who are nothing more
than servants and muchachos for the presidentes.
Every day thousands of people are mistreated,
thrown in jail, brow-beaten by these ignorant
lepers upon the civil payroll. Of all the frauds,
rascally fakirs and infamous scoundrels upon
the face of this earth, these paid slaves of the

As It Is in the Philippines. 147

presidentes are the worst. Eighty-five percent
of them receive only half of their pay, the rest
goes into the personal funds of some municipal
official.

They are lazy, impudent, no-account, and
disgusting to behold. As far as the work
that they are paid to perform is concerned, they
might just as well be made of wood. Such
men or things as these you leave in power, yet
you know that one of the most important ques-
tions that confronts the American authorities
in this country is : How will this land ever rid
itself of ladrones? Can it be done? You bet
your life that it will be. You can never have
peace and order in this land as long as no one re-
spects your police department. You must pay
more attention to the quality of the men and
less to the quantity. There are in a pueblo
twenty policemen, most of whom can neither read
nor write, originate or put into execution an
idea. Fire your twenty ignoramuses and put
in their places one intelligent city marshal and
four assistants, pay them forty pesos per month;
put upon them a dignified uniform and appoint
pnly decent young men to these positions.

Do this in each pueblo in a Province;
then appoint a provincial marshal or sheriff
of the Province; put all these other mar-

148 As It Is in the Philippines.

shals under him and separate them frcwn these
corrupt presidentes; this Chief of Marshals for
two years should be an upright American. This
arrangement would not only be cheaper, but it
would be ten thousand times more beneficial to
the public service. Intelligent men can in one
year's time run out and hound down every
ladrone in the land. You can never rid this coun-
try of this bad element as long as the mem-
bers thereof have more brains and sense than
the men who are supposed to catch them. You
cannot catch the mule-eared rabbit with an or-
dinary cur, you must supplant him with the fleet
greyhound. I defy any congressman, senator,
man, woman or child in America to come to
this land and make a ten minutes' investigation
of this uninformed and armed body of infamous
rats, and then be able to truthfully say that Amer-
ica is the land of the free and the home of the
brave.

Mark you, I am no enemy of these people.
As I write, there hangs over my head a photo
of some of the New World's illustrious men ;
in that collection is the noble Washington, the
illustrious Franklin, the dauntless Webster, and
the martyred McKinley. The largest in that
mighty host is that of the Filipino patriot, Jose
Rizal. My remarks are aimed not at men like him ;

As It Is in the Philippines. 149

I can stand upon the same platform with any
honest, upright member of the federal party.
I can take by the hand any native in this land
who stands out boldly and fearlessly for hon-
est and upright public officials and the liberty
of the masses, his people, but I have nothing but
contempt for any one who smooths over the
actions of a scoundrel, though he be clothed with
the title of United States Philippine Commis-
sioner.

To sum up this situation and bring this to a
conclusion : All Americans in these Islands have
had a great question to solve. The Philippine
Commission has failed; it has not solved
the problem. The Provinces, on account of the
millions of inhabitants, the enormous number
of human souls that is in them, are the heart
and core of this government. The Commission's
policy has not touched them in the least. The
masses of these people are worse off to-day than
under any government in the past. The ques-
tion is up to every American in this country, be
he civilian, employee or private citizen.

We cannot change the condition of affairs that
exists to-day unless we go right square to the
source of the evil. When the affairs of a Gov-
ernment are not properly administered, and hon-
est, upright, and conscientious servants of the

150 As It Is in the Philippines.

public cannot get their just dues, the people who
are at the head, and have charge of the manage-
ment of that government, are to blame for that
condition.

There is not to-day in all this land a school-
teacher, an honest employee, who dares to open
his mouth against his superiors, no matter how
corrupt they may be.

Americans in the Philippine Islands, are you
men or mice? Have you manhood to defend
your rights? Have you courage to write the
true condition of affairs to your friends, rela-
tions, newspapers and representatives? If you
have, and are in favor of honest officials,
against dishonest officials, right against wrong,
if you favor the American Government of
these Islands, instead of the present government
of the federal party, sit down this very night
and write and tell your countrymen the
truth the way you see it. The hand that will
dismiss one honest man to retain a dishonest
one, will dismiss another. Be very careful in
your letters. Do not be prejudiced ; say naught
against the little Filipino ; the masses and major-
ity of them are not to blame for the condition
of affairs that exists to-day. They are as much
opposed to corrupt officials as you are, for the
hand that will oppress a strong-minded Amer-

As It Is in the Philippines. 151

ican will crush the very life out of a poor Fili-
pino. Line your argument, reason and facts
against the policy of the Commission. These are
the ones who have appointed these corrupt offi-
cials, and they are the ones who to-day retain
them in power and position.

My countrymen, Theodore Roosevelt, and
members of the two Houses of Representatives:
I do not ask you to defend me or help me in
any way. I simply request, as an American
citizen, for the honor of America and the poor
people of this country, that you make an in-
vestigation, and I pledge my sacred honor that
you will be ashamed of your civil government
and its officials in these Islands.

It's shameful ; it's pitiful ; it's disgusting.

Amzi B. Kelly,
An American Citizen,

Dismissed Treasurer, of Nueva Ecija.

Attached to Mr. Kelly's statement were af-
fidavits from a number of Filipinos supporting
his charges, which were made with such specific
detail, that they certainly merited some reply.
At any rate, the statement is interesting as in-
dicating the views of an official who had had am-
ple opportunity of observing the working of the
Commission's system of administration.

CHAPTER XL

The Labor Problem. — Filipinos Ingenious in Machinery,
Skilful Workers in Cigar and Cigarette Factories.
— Absolutely Unfitted for Hard Manual Labor. —
Break Down Quickly under Strain. — Importation
of Chinese Would Benefit All Classes. — Contract
Labor Law Prevents Importation of Japanese or
Indians. — Labor Unions in America Do not Under-
stand the Situation. — Strikes Caused by Isabella de
los Reyes.

The Labor problem in the Philippines is a
serious one. The Filipino people have had an
opportunity to earn "wages that they never
dreamed of in Spanish times, and to have them
paid regularly, and the result has been that
they do not come up to the expectations that
were held on their behalf. In certain branches,
such as in the cigar and cigarette factories, they
are skilful workers. They are ingenious and
make fairly good machinists. There are very few
in the cities who could do outdoor work, while

As It Is in the Philippines. 153

in the Provinces, they are accustomed to look
upon it, unless working for themselves, as de-
grading. Even those who work for themselves
do not show nearly as good results as are ob-
tained at plantations worked by imported labor.

The Filipino is not a hardy or robust man, nor
is he energetic. A very few hours alongside
a Chinaman in a rice field, expected to do the
same amount of work, completely exhausts him,
and there is little doubt that the unfortunate
exclusion of Chinamen from the Philippines is
recognized by nearly all Americans who have
lived there, as a blow to the business interests
of the Archipelago. The natives themselves be-
gin to realize the same thing. The Filipino loves
to lord it over his fellows, and he does it with
the Chinamen to his heart's delight, but at pres-
ent, the coolie element of China is lacking. The
result is, that the Chinese there, are now fast
rising to what is considered in their native vil-
lages as wealth, and there are few Chinese in
the Philippines earning less than $30 per month,
if they have been any time in the Philippines and
speak English, while large numbers drift into
business and accumulate fortunes. The Chinese
residents even have their own Chamber of Com-
merce.

Continued experience has conclusively demon-

154 As It Is in the Philippines.

strated that the Filipino is not willing to per-
form hard physical labor, such as with the pick
and shovel, if he can in any way avoid it, and
there are instances where he has starved, rather
than undergo the exertion which such a class
of labor demands. A case in point, is the Ben-
guet road, which may be taken as a fair and
just illustration. The men who went to work
on this undertaking were out of employment and
literally starving. They were paid good wages,
given transportation, very good food and quar-
ters. They were not pushed or driven at their
work, in fact, the fickleness of Filipinos being
realized, they were treated most liberally and with
every possible consideration, with what result?
At the end of a week, ninety percent of the
men returned to Manila. They did not like the
work. Meanwhile the Benguet road is still drag-
ging along its weary length, hundreds of thou-
sands of dollars spent, and its finish an indef-
inite matter.

Senator Lodge in the Senate stated that the
Filipino worked in the rice field under a sun
which is even too much for a Chinaman, though
where he could have got his information, people
in the Philippines would very much like to know.
The Filipino does labor there for two or at most
three months in a year, and tnen needs recupera-

As It Is in the Philippines. 155

tion, which he takes for the following nine or
ten months, as he earns enough from his labor
in the fields, to supply his wants for a year. One
of the greatest complaints since the American
occupation, is that the Filipino, when he has
saved money that he thinks will keep him with-
out doing anything for a month, will throw up
his position, and take his chances of getting an-
other. This, of course, does not apply to the
educated class, clerks, bookkeepers, and so forth,
who generally have a vein of ambition and a
desire to rise.

The only conclusion, therefore, that one can
come to, is that the Filipino laborer works for
such time as dire need compels him, and no
longer. He has been tried now for some time,
and has been found wanting. If Chinese labor
is imported, it is the coolie class who come,
and whose importation is desired, and it stands
to reason, that all such kinds of work as the
Filipino likes and will gladly accept, will be great-
ly increased. Office forces will need to be
doubled and trebled. The number of skilled fac-
tory hands will need to be doubled and trebled.
All classes of skilled labor will be in demand.
The result will be a general advance for the
betterment of the more desirable element of the
Filipino population.

156 As It Is in the Philippines.

In regard to the provincial Filipinos, somewhat
similar results will be obtained. Work always
creates work. Given a Chinese doing the heavy
toil, lighter places would soon be found for the
less drudging, but more apt and versatile na-
tive. He makes a good "boss" for the Chinese,
and his services would be more in demand than
now, when he has a monopoly of all such labor.
But even if he wished to labor in the field
he would not be denied such. The Chi-
nese would by no means exclude him.
In Manila, they are seen laboring side by side.

It can thus be seen that the importation of
Chinese coolies would not harm, but would ben-
efit the Filipino. Moreover, they could be taken
there under contract. Merchants or capitalists
in the Philippines, would be only too willing
to put up the necessary bonds to insure their
return, and a strict accountability under the law.
As matters now stand, development is not only
hindered but prevented. Prospective capital has
repeatedly gone, seen and been conquered, go-
ing home in unmitigated and unqualified dis-
gust, and the outlook promises only aggrava-
tion of such conditions. In the face of such
adverse circumstances, certain concerns will
doubtless go ahead, and for a time, by a tour de

As It Is in the Philippines. 157

force, secure laborers. The result will be a still
greater dearth in the labor market.

With such conditions confronting, the situa-
tion assumes a most serious aspect. If capital
is discouraged now, while all eyes are directed
there, the Philippines will receive a set-back from
which it will take years to recover.

The chief agencies at work in bringing about
such an unpromising state of affairs, are the
views of the Administration, the attitude of the
Filipinos, and the labor unions in the United
States. As to the two former, their conceptions
of what the importation of Chinese means, is
erroneous; as to the latter, argument seems
hardly necessary. In so far as the labor unions
can have objection to Chinese labor in the Phil-
ippines, they could be easily enlightened. The
Philippines have already been treated as a leg-
islative exception ; in the matter of the Exclu-
sion Law, like treatment could be applied. The
labor question in the States affords no precedent
or parallel for the labor question in the Philip-
pines. They are not in the same class. The
Philippines also offer no opportunities for the
American laborer. These facts being recognized
and the Golden Gate being shut against the Phil-
ippine Chinese, the problem is solved so far as
the labor unions are concerned.

158 As It Is in the Philippines.

To the labor question in the Philippines one
answer can be given. They need and should
have Chinese. On the one hand they have stag-
nation and poverty ; on the other, industry, devel-
opment and prosperity.

The great business concerns in the Philippines
are at a standstill to all intents and purposes
for lack of labor, and the experience of a large
employer is that it takes three Filipinos to do
the same amount of labor that one American does
in a day. This applies particularly to carpen-
ters and skilled labor of such nature. Mr. E.
C. McCuIlough, who has the largest printing
house in the Philippines, pays Filipinos, as fold-
ers $io Mexican per week, three of whom do
less than one girl getting from seven to ten dol-
lars, U. S. currency, would do here. This ap-
plies to typesetters, pressmen, and everything
throughout McCullough's premises, showing that
Filipino labor is not cheap labor, but costs more
for the same amount done, than it would in the
United States.

There has been talk of bringing in large bodies
of workmen from Japan, but thqre are two ele-
ments that interfere with this plan; firstly, the
Japanese Emigration Law prohibits the emigra-
tion of their coolies, excepting under special
contracts approved by the Government, and which

As It Is in the Philippines. 159

have to be carried out to the letter by the em-
ployer, such as medical attention, food, holidays,
and numerous other details; secondly, even were
this to be overcome, which could doubtless be
done, there would be trouble in the Manila cus-
tom house, about labor imported under contract.
Consequently that for the present seems not to
be feasible.

As an instance of the difficulty of procuring
labor, may be mentioned the importation of a
thousand jin-rickshaws, and the attempt to get
men to pull them. A company was founded, the"
capital subscribed, and the rickshaws imported,
but no labor could be obtained. Three Chinese
started out with their rickshaws, but the com-
pany found it impossible to make arrangements
with any large body of men; in fact, they were
not there. The majority of the Chinese left
were making far too much in other directions
for them to take to the hard manual labor of
rickshaw pulling. On the other hand, the Fil-
ipinos were not only unable, but unwilling, and
the consequence is, that the rickshaws are lying
in Manila useless, badly as they are needed in
the streets for transportation.

With the power now in the hands of the Com-
mission, it is easy for them to do something,
such as passing some law which would simplify

160 As It Is in the Philippines.

the labor problem, but apparently they do not
have the desire to do it. When they wish, they
pass laws that override the Constitution of the
United States itself, but where it is anything that
would benefit capital, and thereby the other in-
terests of the Philippines, they remain quiescent
and say they have no power to do anything.

Another feature that has caused a consider-
able amount of annoyance to business in Manila,
has been strikes, which have been caused by a
man named Isabella de los Reyes, who has a
powerful influence among the uneducated Fil-
ipino workmen, and has caused them to go
out of places where they had worked at good
wages, and demand an enormous increase. At
one time, there was a considerable strike in the
printing business, which did not, however, affect
the newspapers, but was directed more against
the men who ran printing establishments in the
city.

Two hundred of McCullough's men went out
one Monday morning, demanding an increase
of twenty percent all around. Mr. McCullough
saw the leaders of his own men, and they agreed
with him that their wages were liberal, and some
even admitted that they knew that if he could
not get other laborers, or if he had to accede to
the demand, it meant an immense rise of the

As It Is in the Philippines. 161

already high prices of printing in the Philippines,
or else that the business would have to suspend
indefinitely, but they had joined an organization
of which Isabella de los Reyes was the head, and
he had told them they must do as he said. In
a week's time, those who had no money left, re-
turned and went to work, and the rest of them
gradually came back, so that in less than three
weeks they were at work again. As an instance
of the causelessness of the strike, it may be
stated that men in McCullough's, who, three
years ago were receiving the old Spanish wages
of three or four dollars a week, were getting from
twenty-five to thirty dollars. Printing is abnor-
mally high in the Philippines. The reason for
this is the cost of labor and the necessity of hav-
ing one hundred and fifty Filipinos to do what
fifty men could do in the United States.

Isabella de los Reyes also organized a strike
among the dockmen and lightermen, many of
whom were earning from one to two dollars a
day, U. S. currency, with the result of a great
interference with shipping and the final defeat
of the men, who demanded the same as they
would be paid in the United States for the same
class of work, which would have meant ruin
to the shipping, as it would take three men to
do the work one does in America.

CHAPTER XII.

The Currency Question. — Governmental Salaries Nom-
inally Gold, Paid in Mexican Silver. — Ide Refuses
to Make Fluctuating Ratio on the Importation of
Mexican Silver in Order to Keep the Ratio Two
for One. — Prices Increased Enormously. — An Iowa
Teacher's Letter to Secretary Shaw. — A Well
Known Banker's View of the Situation. — ^A Mer-
chant's Views.

The enormous decline in the value of silver
in the past year has been an immense hardship
to all classes in the Philippines. The Commis-
sion refused to aid or assist the merchants and
even their own employees in any way with regard
to the matter, preferring to leave it in the hands
of Congress, and Congress did nothing.

One of the principal faults was the con-
tracting of governmental salaries throughout the
Archipelago, in American gold, unless it was the
intention to pay in American gold. The fact
that the Commission took this course without

As It Is in the Philippines. 163

having the gold to carry it through, has been
the cause of more trouble and annoyance than
anything else since the American regime com-
menced. The military authorities had made a
compulsory ratio of two dollars Mexican for
one American, and as the fluctuation in silver
at the time was very slight, that parity was
maintained until the first of January, 1902, when
the Commission decided that it was necessary,
owing to the fall of silver, to change the ratio,
and it was made two and one-tenth for the next
three months.

Almost as though their action had caused it,
silver immediately fell ten or twelve points, with
the result of again causing hardship to all those
receiving their gold salaries on a Mexican basis.

The acting Governor and Commissioner Ide,
under whose special department it was, were
urged and implored by the bankers, merchants
and others, not to interfere with the currency, un-
less they made a final alteration to some differ-
ent coinage. It was pointed out to Commis-
sioner Ide, that the putting of a tax on the im-
portation of Mexican dollars, fluctuating from
day to day with the market price of silver and
the difference between that and the ratio of two
for one, would be temporarily a better solution
of the question, and that he would not thereby

164 As It Is in the Philippines.

overthrow all confidence in the stability of the
currency, but he decided against this apparently
only logical solution of the question, and the
ratio was made. From the first day, trouble be-
gan. Prices went up with leaps and bounds.
Nearly everybody who kept a store immediately
went on a gold basis, some even charging Amer-
ican dollars where they had formerly charged
Mexican. Mexicans were accepted only at the
bank rate, and the government ratio was ignored,
except where the government paid out salaries to
its employees.

Meetings have been held by the various Cham-
bers of Commerce, separately and jointly, and
every effort has been made to urge, first, on the
Commission and then on Congress, the absolute
necessity that something should be done to al-
leviate the situation, which, owing to the com-
plicated governmental system of paying in Mex-
ican silver the salaries contracted for in gold,
has put everybody into a complete muddle.

The teachers have felt the effect of this method
of pajrment severely, and many and loud have
been the complaints, both in private and through
the public press. One teacher who came from
Iowa, wrote a letter on the subject to the Hon.
Leslie M. Shaw, Secretary of the Treasury, set-
ting before him the grievances of the teachers, in

As It Is in the Philippines. 165

regard to the currency. The following are ex-
tracts from the letter:

"We have waited and hoped for relief until
hope is gone. Allison's last speech makes every
lowan in these Islands blush with shame. We
who were so proud of our State and our coun-
try, are ashamed that such utter folly came from
one of ours.

"Every one in these Islands, even ex-populists,
unless connected with gambling concerns known
here as banks, earnestly desires an honest, re-
deemable American dollar.

"This is how the Mexican money system works
here at present.

"First, for the army: Soldiers are paid in
gold. To spend this they must change it to Mex-
ican below the legal rate and lose, yet their loss
is far less than ours.

"Second, for the civilian: If he is a disburs-
ing officer, and pays himself in gold or Mexican,
he can make money honestly by using one or
the other as suits his convenience. Were he
dishonest, it is an excellent field, for the change
in rate would make it easily possible for a man
of very ordinary mind, successfully to cover dis-
honest operations. You have only to think a mo-
ment to see how this is possible. Of course, I

166 As It Is in the Philippines.

would not imply that this is ever done, though
many think so, just as many think that large sums
are paid by Manila banks to keep out the gold
standard. It is almost libel here, even to think
of such things, so we try not to do so. But the
bank gains, and all others, including the govern-
ment, lose. These gambling concerns could af-
ford to pay well, which is as much as is at pres-
ent known.

"Third, for civilians not disbursing officers:
We receive what is called a voucher. It states
that we have received our exact salary in United'
States currency. We sign the lie or starve, well'
knowing that we will get in exchange a check
for local currency. At present, we get this at'
2.27. Those who have loved ones dependent
upon them at home, immediately pay at the bank
as high as 2.40 or 2.50 on the very day they take
payment at 2.27. Teachers stationed in the Prov-
inces can get no chance to change Mexican money
for months, while its value melts away like ice
in the tropical sun.

"Were we people of leisure, we might spend
the month en route to Manila for money, or still
better, we might follow the army paymaster, and
rob our poor soldier boys, even as the Chino
does, or give them justice and come out even,
while really aiding them. But teachers are gen-

W. MORGAN SHUSTER.
Chief Collector of Customs of the Philippines.

As It Is in the Philippines. 167

erally at isolated places, and are forbidden to
leave their station, even if, by chance, they should
happen to know when the troops are paid. In
the Provinces, too, we often get our vouchers
long months after service was rendered, and when
the check comes, finally, it is at the old rate.
For instance, through no fault of mine, vouchers
for November, December, January and February
night-school work, reached me only a few days
ago. During the first two months, the rate was
'two to one.' The second two months it was
*2.io to one.' My checks will be made at these
rates. When I change this back to money, if
I may be so fortunate, it will not even be at the
current rate, 2.27, but at 2.45 or more.

"Those who have dependent loved ones and
wish to keep up life insurance policies, must
pay this bank rate, for the government, repre-
sented by the post-office, will not accept from us
this Mexican abomination in which we are paid,
and in which, if Senator Allison has his way,
we are always to be paid. Ofifer to resign, you
dare not, for a neat circular, sent out early by
this Mexican government, threatens you with a
damage suit, and you come home under a cloud,
at your own risk and at your own expense. Even
this is impossible, for few, if any, teachers here
have enough saved to take them home.

168 As It Is in the Philippines.

"Superintendent Atkinson, in addition to the
manifold cares of administration, has this an-
noyance also; and, in common with the division
superintendents, an added loss from spending
money for necessary traveling expenses, and re-
ceiving it back months later in this depreciated
currency of an alien government.

"A division superintendent here, working at
a salary far below what either his influence here,
or his labor merits, has told me that he has over
four hundred pesos now tied up in traveling and
other necessary expenses of official character.
Much of it was sent at two to one. He would
gladly sell his expense account at 2.50 to one,
thus losing one dollar in every five. Is it right?
Would the President approve if he knew ? Even
populists here, would gladly accept the Nebras-
kan's 'cross of gold' instead of the 'thorns'
which are rather abundant in this situation.

"Teachers here do not complain under the many
hardships of the service, of anything else save
this discreditable action on the part of our gov-
ernment. Neither do they complain of this loss,
which amounts to thousands monthly in the
aggregate, if this money benefited either the poor
Filipino or the national government. On the
contrary, both are also robbed.

As It Is in the Philippines. 169

"Can you not find a solution to this problem
that will give justice to all?"

When the first Commission was in the Phil-
ippines, Colonel Denby saw the local bankers on
the subject, and the following is a copy of a let-
ter sent to him by the manager of one of the
leading banks in Manila at the Colonel's request :

The copy was given to the author by the banker
himself.

"Dating from the year 1877, when the Span-
ish Government found that the gold currency
in these Islands was rapidly leaving, owing to
the depreciation of silver, and the large influx
of Mexican dollars, the currency here has been
in anything but a satisfactory condition.

"In 1878, the Government, in order to check
the heavy export of gold currency from the Phil-
ippines, passed a law prohibiting the import of
Mexican dollars, but allowed the dollars then
in the country to circulate as legal tender.

"Had it been possible to carry out strictly this
law, the currency of the Islands might still have
remained on a gold basis, but with the deprecia-
tion of the white metal, and the consequent in-
crease in premium offering in gold, smuggling
was carried on to such an enormous extent, be-

170 As It Is in the Philippines.

ing openly winked at and aided by the Spanish
customs and other officials, that in the year 1885,
when the writer arrived in Manila, the gold cur-
rency was a thing of the past, and Mexican dol-
lars ruled all through the Islands, the native ac-
cepting the silver dollar as of the same purchas-
ing value as the old gold dollar.

"Under this condition of affairs, the value of
the dollar here for trade purposes, for some years,
fluctuated with the price of silver as in other
silver countries, with the one exception, that the
Mexican dollar being prohibited by law from
entry, whenever there was a scarcity of curren-
cy, owing to heavy crops or from other causes,
the value of the Mexican dollar rose by a natural
process, to a point which would tempt smugglers
to bring in coin, allowing them ample margin
for a substantial profit on the operation, after
paying the heavy bribes which were necessary
to square the various officials whose aid was re-
quired to smuggle dollars in. Consequently, ex-
change on China, whence the dollars were
brought over, fluctuated as much as ten to fif-
teen percent, when coin was required, dropping
quickly to par when the demand was satisfied.

"Between the years 1888 and 1897, several
schemes were proposed by the Madrid Govern-
ment, for calling in Mexican dollars, and replac-

As It Is in the Philippines. 171

ing the same by Spanish currency, in order to
restore the parity of exchange between Madrid
and Manila, hardly from philanthropic motives,
but rather to assist the influential Catalan man-
ufacturers who exported largely to the Philip-
pines, protected by the heavy duties imposed on
foreign manufactured goods, from which they
were free. This action was taken for another
reason, to still the bitter complaints of the large
army of military, naval and civil officials, who,
being paid from the colonial treasury, were yearly
suffering from the combined fall in the price of
the silver dollar. Although various feasible
schemes were discussed, the home government
found itself hampered at every pass by lack of
funds and poor credit, essentials necessary to
have enabled it to work such an important finan-
cial operation as the calling in of several mil-
lion dollars.

"In fact, so acute were the financial difficul-
ties, that even with this continued pressure be-
ing brought on different ministries to place the
currency here on a Spanish basis, they did not
hesitate to recoin several millions of Mexican
dollars into a local half dollar and twenty cent
piece of low touch and light weight, on which op-
eration there was a clean profit of ten percent to
the treasury. It was proposed to utilize this profit

172 As It Is in the Philippines.

in paying a preferential exchange on sums re-
mitted home by government officials, but the
amount was finally amalgamated in the general
budget.

"This reckless policy was continued up to the
year 1897, when, to make matters worse, there
was sent from Madrid to meet the heavy war ex-
penses, six million dollars, of a specially coined
silver dollar marked 'Filipinas' of the same touch
and weight as the Spanish silver dollar, some
eight percent under the value of the Mexican.
It was greatly feared, at the time, that these
depreciated coins added to the large amount of
half dollars and twenty cent pieces already in
circulation, would depreciate the currency of the
country to a further extent. That such a catas-
trophe has been avoided, is due only to the won-
derful capacity the country has for absorbing
coin among the many producing Provinces in
the Archipelago, where the natives are very apt
to hoard their earnings by burying them.

"On the arrival of the American army, and the
establishment of the United States Government
here, the very serious question of the currency
was brought up in a peremptory manner by the
introduction of large sums of United States gold
brought in with the troops. It was necessary
without delay, to make some stable basis for ex-

As It Is in the Philippines. 173

change, as the natives, used so long to value their
products on a silver dollar, refused roundly to
accept the gold dollar for two silver dollars, and
the commercial world was unwilling to exchange
the gold for silver at current value, unless there
was some guarantee that they would be allowed
free entry of this latter coin to meet the increased
demand.

"The United States authorities, on the peti-
tion of the banks and leading business firms,
very properly gave the necessary permission, thus
averting a grave monetary crisis, fixing a steady
course of exchange which has ruled ever since,
only varied by the fluctuations in the value of
the Mexican dollars in London and San Fran-
cisco. There have been considerable imports of
Mexican dollars during the past six months, to
meet the heavy local demand caused by the res-
idence of such a large number of troops in the
Islands, and already not only have the banks
none of the Spanish dollars, half dollars and
twenty cent pieces referred to previously, which
have gone into circulation, but there is now a
shortage of subsidiary coinage.

"This introduction of clean, Mexican dollars, as
the currency of the Islands, has been welcomed
heartily by all sections of the mercantile com-
munity, and is, in the opinion of the leading finan-

174 As It Is in the Philippines.

cial people here, the only currency suited to the
Islands for the present. Any introduction of a
gold coinage, if considered advisable, should be
made very gradually, and in the most practical
manner after years of careful study, as any sud-
den disturbance of the monetary system might
ruin for years the fine and increasing export trade
of the Islands.

"In the first place, natives in the Provinces
getting, as they do, their requirements almost
exclusively from local production while receiving
to-day, say ten dollars silver (average price)
for their picul of hemp, pay in wages and for
their own wants in this coin. Were a gold cur-
rency established, it is to be presumed, that they
would receive five dollars gold for this same
quantity of hemp, (barely cost of production in
silver coin) but they would still have to con-
tinue paying labor and expenses on the basis
of the silver currency, or at any rate for some
years to come, until such time as a greatly in-
creased use of imported goods would bring com-
pensation by the native getting value for his gold
dollar.

"As far as local commodities go, it is unlikely
that values would be affected by a change of cur-
rency, until, by the opening of railways and the
employment of improved labor-saving machinery.

As It Is in the Philippines. 175

the country, adjusting itself to the influence of
civilization, would find in imported goods some
fairer purchasing power for its gold dollar and,
moreover, by the better quality of its exports, ob-
tain higher prices to meet the enhanced cost in
production, which a gold currency naturally
would bring with it. Education also would bring
with it fresh wants in the satisfaction of which
the native would get a fairer value for the gold
dollar paid him, but I maintain that until this
period arrives, producers will be unable to pay
their way, if they sell on the basis of a gold dol-
lar, and were such a regime forced on the coun-
try, unprepared as it is to meet it, a grave and
precipitate agricultural crisis would have to be
faced.

"Again, with exchange here on a par or nearly
so with other silver-using eastern countries, we
have always open a profitable market for the
produce of these Islands and general inter-trade,
especially with Japan and China, which absorb
to-day the larger part of our sugar crops. Any
interference with the currency would seriously
handicap trade with these markets, to which there
will always be a natural flow of the products of
the Philippines owing to proximity and other
natural conditions, as long as no heavy differences
in exchange have to be calculated for in prices.

176 As It Is in the Philippines.

"Finally, when studying the question of a
United States gold currency, there must be faced
the vital question of the disposal of the large
stocks of silver now in the Islands, and the heavy
loss to be borne by some one in replacing these
by United States gold coin, besides many other
grave possibilities which have as yet made even
the great financiers, who have under their care
the ultimate conversion of the British-India rupee
currency to a gold basis, hesitate before making
any sudden and sweeping change in the monetary
system of that great dependency.

"I attach an opinion on currency by a leading
exporter here, which may interest you, being
given in his own words:

" *With exchange at four percent, the pres-
ent value of Iloilo sugar would be forty-five dol-
lars United States gold per ton as against ninety
dollars Mexican to-day. This sugar, it is esti-
mated, costs to produce thirty-two dollars, the
same in gold or silver currency. It would take
years of discontent to lower wages to a gold basis,
or as is more likely, by an influx of capital, mate-
rially improve the outrun of the estates, which
Would be an impossible task, when treating with
small proprietors who are rarely free from debt,
and would only lead to change of ownership.

As It Is in the Philippines. 177

"*As regards hemp, it must not be forgotten
that Manila's greatest competitor is sisal, a prod-
uct of Mexico, a country on a silver basis. The
lowest price that sisal can be produced at, is about
two and a half cents per pound. Were three
and a half cents per pound to be paid for Manila
hemp, as it was in the beginning of 1898, the
result would be, if payment was made on a gold
basis in the Philippines, ruin, whereas, on a sil-
ver basis, the natives are fairly prosperous.

" 'It is quite impossible to teach natives the
appreciable difference between gold and silver. As
a general rule, even the highly educated man has
no ambition to leave his own country, and reckons
his fortune by the currency of the Islands, nor
does he look when receiving product of the sale
of his sugar or hemp, whether payment is in gold
or silver, naturally taking as his standard, the
time when he received the highest price in dol-
lars for his produce. It would mean discomfort
amongst all classes were there a sudden drop
of fifty percent in prices on a change in cur-
rency, which would be deemed a calamity, where-
as the gradual fall in the price of the silver dol-
lar in recent years, and the consequent increase
in dollar value of produce has been reckoned in
the Islands as an era of prosperity, the natives
passing here the sugar crisis of 1894 and 1895,

178 As It Is in the Philippines.

without any serious inconvenience, where in Java,
trade was ruined for nearly two years. The
same was the case in 1896 and 1897, when hemp
touched in gold the lowest price ever known.

" 'What the country requires is a silver cur-
rency with more subsidiary coinage (silver and
copper), also an issue of notes to a moderate
amount, preferably government paper, redeem-
able in Mexican dollars and local silver coin.' "

The American merchants now are unanimously
in favor of immediately going on a United
States currency basis, thereby settling all diffi-
culties, buying up the Mexican, and making it
illegal tender after a stated time. Even bankers
and other merchants have altered their opinion
since the time when the bank manager gave his
views on the subject to Colonel Denby, in 1899.
If nothing has already been done by the Com-
mission to alleviate matters beyond the coinage
of silver dollars, which, added to the Mexican
now in use, will make the situation worse than
it was before, Congress should attend to this
question, and relieve not only the merchants in
the Philippines, but practically everybody in the
Archipelago. This unquestionably is the crying
need of the hour in the Philippines.

CHAPTER XIII.

Religion in the Philippines. — ^Work of the Y. M. C. A.

-—Episcopal Bishop Appointed. — Methodist, Presby-
terian, and Christian Science Churches. — Fondness
of the Filipinos for Display and Pomp. — The Fili-
pinos Fond of Religion. — Fiestas. — The Friar Ques-
tion.— Unnecessary Alarm. — Good and Bad Among
Them. — In the Main a Body of Christian Workers
Who Have Been Responsible for Bringing to Chris-
tianity the Filipinos as a Race.

The Protestant religion was practically non-
existent in the Archipelago when it first came
under the domination of the United States. Since
that time considerable effort has been made by
Episcopalians, Presbyterians, Methodists, Bap-
tists and Christian Scientists.

The work done by the Y. M. C. A. has been in-
defatigable, partly in connection with the army
and also with the civilians, and there is no doubt,
that they have accomplished a considerable
amount of good. One of the leaders of that or-
ganization accompanied the American troops who

180 As It Is in the Philippines.

went to China, in the campaign of 1900, and
looked after their welfare in a religious way, to
the best of his ability, in which he was assisted
by the ladies of the various missions.

The Episcopalians have built a large wooden
structure as a temporary church. Previously they
held services in a large room in the Cuartel de
Espana, which was formerly the artillery bar-
racks, but has lately been used as the barracks
of an infantry regiment. The appointment of
Bishop Brent, and the obtaining of sufficient
funds to build a cathedral give encouragement,
and it is believed that the Episcopal Church will
do considerable mission work among the Fil-
ipinos.

The Methodists and Presbyterians also have
wooden buildings where they conduct services,
and the Christian Scientists hold their services
in the building formerly used by the Episcopa-
lians, in the Cuartel de Espana, so that taking
it all in all, Manila is well supplied with
facilities for religious services outside of the reli-
gion of the Filipinos, who are devoted to the
Church of Rome.

The Filipino race may in a certain sense be
called religious, and they love and admire the
display and ceremony which accompany their re-
ligious observances. The Spaniard recognized this

As It Is in the Philippines. 181

fact, as well as the Filipino's love of idleness, and
took every opportunity to make public holidays,
religion being largely used for the purpose. Nu-
merous Saints' days, in which religious proces-
sions largely figured, were made public holidays.

This question of public holidays was one that
came up before the Commission very shortly
after the reins of government were turned over
by the military to the civil authorities, and the
number was reduced to a very few, but the law
is practically inoperative, for the large business
houses and banks still close on their own ac-
count, whenever they see fit, which, as a rule,
is when the natives expect one of their customary
holidays. A great deal of indignation also was
expressed by Americans, that Memorial Day was
not appointed a holiday by the Commission, but
the American Club, on the occasion, turned out
in force and did what it could to obliterate the
bad impression caused by the action of the Com-
mission, who alluded to it sneeringly as "acute
Americanism." The Manila "American," on the
Fourth of July, referring to the matter in an
editorial, said:

"It is no discredit to be assaulted with the
epithet of 'acute American,' but God knows, there
are enough men over here who would be bene-
fited by an inoculation of any kind of American-

182 As It is in the Philippines.

ism. It is with sorrow that such a confession
must be made, and the fact that it is true be-
yond controversy, makes it all the worse. These
were content to ignore, belittle and degrade Me-
morial Day. Let us hope that they may draw some
inspiration from the demonstrations, decorations
and addresses of to-day."

The banks and various business houses find it
necessary to give as many holidays as possible, on
account of the climate. It is nothing uncom-
mon during the progress of a race meeting, for
the banks to close four or five days in succession
at one o'clock, so as to give their employees
a chance for recreation. This, indeed, is cus-
tomary throughout the Orient, and Manila is
no exception. The Filipinos will not lightly re-
linquish the holidays to which they have been
accustomed, and even if they have to lose their
positions in the Government employ, they will
keep their religious holidays as of yore.

A question that has been of serious portent to
the Commission, has been that of the friars, which
still remains to be settled. The friars have not
been popular with the Filipinos as a whole, and
it is claimed that they have been the cause of
most of the insurrections that have occurred, nota-
bly those of 1872 and 1896. The enmity to the
friars may be broadly stated to have been the

As It Is in the Philippines. 183

result of two conditions, economic and religious,
or rather church policy. The first was brought
about by the accumulation of vast estates by the
religious orders, together with the ten days' en-
forced labor in each year; the other, by the
seizure and holding of benefices to the almost ut-
ter exclusion of the native secular priests. Upon
these estates, the friars were autocrats, and their
tenants but little better than peons. More than
that — we have the word of the historians for
it — the papers were so drawn that a leaseholder
had no security of tenure whatever. So long as
he was a good son of the Church, paid his tithes,
and lived in subjection to his religious superiors,
he was reasonably safe. But woe to him who
made a show of independence.

According to the canon law, a friar may not
hold a benefice so long as there is a secular
priest suitable and available. The represent-
atives of the orders at the Vatican had little
difficulty in convincing the Church authorities,
that the native priests were neither, and after
that their path was smooth. Placed in charge
of the parishes, and with bishops and archbish-
ops favoring them, it was easy for them to pre-
vent, or, at least to minimize the ordination of
natives.

This feeling of opposition to the friars is very

184 As It Is in the Philippines.

ancient. In reading the history of former Fil-
ipino insurrections and local outbreaks, one is
struck by the similarity between them in the re-
spect that the persons of the friars and the
churches over which they held pastorates, were
always the first to suffer. Those who read the
newspapers during the progress of the rebellion
of 1896, will remember that the cause of the
Spaniards was always described as the Friars'
War, and if one talks to any old '96 rebel, he
will hear tales of revenge worked on friars told
with gusto. In a town in a neighboring
Province, a man who in the early days slew an
unpopular friar, was lately elected Presidents
He was not only in the wlar with the United
States, but was actually a guide against the Fil-
ipinos, simply because he had lost sympathy
with their cause, as it was no longer directed
against the friar.

It is hoped that Governor Taft's visit to Rome
will have lasting results, and that a satisfactory
conclusion will be arrived at for the sale of the
lands owned by the friars.

Leaving out all industrial and economic fac-
tors, therefore, it can be seen readily enough
that the removal of the friar question will have
a most pacifying effect on Filipino politics. It
it doubtful, however, if many natives will take

As It Is in the Philippines. 185

advantage of the opportunity to purchase homes,
if the plan be decided upon to sell them to pres-
ent tenants; or if purchased, to work out pa-
tiently and successfully the deferred payments.
The Filipino is capable of strenuous efforts for
brief periods, but like the natives of most coun-
tries lying between the tropics, where it is easy
to obtain the few simple products from which
come his food, clothing and shelter, he is apt
to spend much time in idleness, or worse, when
he has secured sufficient for his immediate wants.

If the purchased land be opened to home-
stead settlement it would probably be quickly
seized and fairly well cultivated. But whatever
course be adopted, nothing but good, either po-
litically or industrially, can come of the acquisi ■
tion of the lands of the friars, which will be ul-
timately followed by their exodus from the
Archipelago, and the substitution for them of
priests educated more in accordance with the ten-
dencies of American Catholicism.

There has been a great deal of unnecessary
alarm over the attitude of the friars towards
the Americans. The friars may make mistakes
in their methods, but they are essentially a body
of religious men who have become accustomed
to having a large amount of power, not only
religious but secular. It is natural, therefore,

186 As It Is in the Philippines.

that they do not at once willingly acquiesce in
the sudden loss of all their authority, and there
are few bodies of men who could have done so
as completely and apparently as amiably as have
the friars. There have been all sorts of ma-
licious stories told with regard to the friars, in
some cases unfortunately true, but in many in-
stances absolutely; false or grossly misrepre-
sented. In the main, the friars may be classified
as a body of Christian workers, who have been
mainly responsible for bringing the Filipinos as
a race to Christianity.

As to whether the Protestant religion in the
Philippines can do much in the way of proselyt-
izing the Filipinos, is a matter of considerable
doubt, as they are extremely loyal to the Catholic
religion, and look down upon people who worship
in any other way as heretics and unbelievers. It
is a question which only time will decide.

CHAPTER XIV.

Taft Considers Chief Success of the Commission the
Judicial System. — He Thinks Pick of Filipino Law-
yers Secured for Bench. — The Governor Excuses
the Sedition Law. — Thought Necessary to Control
American Editors in Manila. — Taft's Defense of
Law Weak. — Power of the Commission and Judges
Dangerous to Liberty. — A Military Despotism un-
der Civil Officials. — Filipinos Detest Foreigners.
— Artists in Dissimulation.

A RECENT article in a magazine, written by
Governor Taft during the time he was at home,
contains a great deal of material for thought.

It would seem from his statements that he
considers the chief success thus far gained by
the Commission of which he is the head, to be
the establishment of a judiciary system in the
Islands. He maintains that the principle upon
which it is based has been a veritable earnest of
the capacity of the Government.

It appointed a Supreme Court, to which dis-
putes between Americans and natives could be

188 As It Is in the Philippines.

carried, American judges holding several of these
important positions, while in the Islands, as a
whole, the Filipino judges have been so scattered
that they constitute one-third of the total num-
ber. "The Commission," Governor Taft says,
"has certainly secured the pick of Filipino law-
yers for the bench." Upon the subject of the
sedition laws which have aroused so much feel-
ing, both in the Philippines and in America, as
contrary to American institutions, Governor Taft
endeavors to throw light. He says it was nec-
essary to pass the bill so as to maintain control
over the American editors in Manila, who were
given to baiting the natives and thus making
the insurrection more formidable. He goes on
to say that the editors of certain Manila news-
papers have the bitterest feeling towards the
Filipinos, and entertain the view that legislation
for the benefit of the Filipinos, or the appoint-
ment of them to offices is a lack of loyalty to
the Americans who have come to settle the Is-
lands. Governor Taft complains that these edi-
tors wrote scurrilous articles impeaching and at-
tacking Filipino officials, Filipino judges and the
Filipino people, as a basis for attacking the pol-
icy of the Commission.

Of the feeling of the Filipinos towards the
Americans, Governor Taft declares that so far

As It Is in the Philippines. 189

as the civil government is concerned, no feelings
of hatred exist, but that the feeling of the peo-
ple towards the army is different, varying with
the attitude of the commanding officer at the
neighboring post. Where he has been author-
itative and surly, the natives do not like the army,
but where he has been kind and just, an oppo-
site attitude exists. On this point, General Chaf-
fee has evidence from all over the Philippines
of an absolutely contrary state of affairs, and
letters were received daily from the Provinces,
imploring the re-establishment of the military
and the expulsion of the civil authority.

A promise of independence would hinder rather
than help the work of reconciliation and peace.
Governor Taft turns the tables on President
Schurman, who thought that the Filipinos would
not be capable of independence within a genera-
tion, but now believes they will be trustworthy in
six or eight years, basing the change of opinion
on the observations of General Chaffee, who him-
self holds President Schurman's earlier estimate.
Governor Taft also brings out with singular
clearness the by no means new, but always valid
point, that there is a great difference between
liberty and independence. A country may be
independent, yet subject to despotism, or it may
be as dependent as Canada or New Zealand and

190 As It Is in the Philippines.

still enjoy the largest measure of individual free-
dom. He asks, in case independence should be
granted, by what inherent right America is to
let the Christian Filipinos rule over the Moros
of Mindanao, and the hill tribesmen, who
would regard such authority as extremely ob-
noxious.

To a certain extent Governor Taft is right
when he considers the establishment of a ju-
diciary system as the chief success gained by
the Commission, and probably under the circum-
stances, it is as good a judiciary as could have
been obtained. If there had been any way of
making the system different, to prevent the
judges from being appointed by the Commission
itself, and had there been any provision what-
ever for trial by jury, without which it is im-
possible for a free press or a free country to
exist, the situation would be more satisfactory.

The present system gives to the Commission,
through the judges, absolute power over life
and death on everybody in the Philippines. The
author does not mean to say that this power is
at all likely to be used, but the possibility that
it could be so used if a Commission should so
desire and judges could be obtained subversive
enough, is an indictment of the system.

With regard to Governor Taft's excuse for the

As It Is in the Philippines. 191

treason and sedition law, for the purpose of
holding in his power absolutely and completely
the American newspapers of Manila, the defense
is weak, for the editors and numerous other res-
idents of Manila are perfectly at home on the
situation in the Philippines, much more so than
it is possible for Governor Taft or his associates
to become, as they know but one side of the sit-
uation.

Reports come to the Commission from all over
the Archipelago, from every governor, glowing
with laudation over the work accomplished by
themselves and their associates, irrespective of
the fact that, by the same mail, might come a
letter to the military authorities, giving a vastly
diflferent tale. The most palpable of these, prob-
ably, is the report of Governor Grant, of Leyte,
which has been alluded to, surpassing as it does
in mendacious misrepresentations the celebrated
report of Major Gardener, relating to the paci-
fication of Tayabas, while it was known to every
American and Filipino in the Province, that it
was a veritable hot-bed of insurrection.

The editors of Manila are men of no mean
experience, and are thoroughly capable of gaug-
ing the situation for themselves. All of them
favored the establishm'ent of the civil power,
especially in Manila, and gave the Commission

192 As It Is in the Philippines.

their enthusiastic support until the time came
when the Commission became so palpably un-
worthy of it, that the editors, in the interests of
the people themselves, had to tell the truth and
expose the unsatisfactory condition of affairs.
The "Times," the "Freedom" and the "Amer-
ican," one by one, were forced into line by the
march of circumstances. The editors were ac-
cused by the Commission of being anarchists,
agitators, and what, for some reason or other,
the members of the Commission seemed to think
the most severe term possible to use about any-
body, "acute Americans."

Unquestionably the people have scored the ap-
pointment of Filipinos to office whose hands were
scarcely dry from the blood of American sol-
diers, of men who were regarded under the Span-
ish regime, not only as insurrectos, but also as
criminals.

The people have complained bitterly and with
justice that every law passed was for the Fil-
ipinos and antagonistic to the Americans, not
only in the Philippines but at home, and they
have maintained that an American was worse
off in the Philippines than a citizen of any other
power, as he was completely at the mercy of
capricious circumstances, while on the other hand,
citizens of other powers had their consuls to

As It Is in the Philippines. 193

appeal to in event of injustice. Governor Taft
and his associates have been bitterly antagonistic
to all newspapers and almost all correspond-
ents since the commencement of the civil regime.
According to them, not one has ever told the
truth, whether they were men of international
repute or new reporters. Stephen Bonsall's ar-
ticles on the Philippines were characterized as
false, while, as a matter of fact, considering the
brevity of his stay in the Philippines, Mr. Bon-
sall obtained a marvelous insight into the ex-
isting situation, and the accuracy of the major-
ity of his statements is remarkable. Most of
the others who have written on Philippine con-
ditions have fallen under the displeasure of the
Civil Commission.

Governor Taft's view of the feeling of the Fil-
ipinos towards the Americans is, of course, an
individual opinion. A Filipino lawyer of Manila,
to whom the author spoke regarding the sub-
ject, said:

"How can you expect a people just conquered,
in whom the love of freedom burns as fiercely
as in any other nation, to really love and esteem
their conquerors ? We had a right to expect bet-
ter treatment from the nation which claims to
be the leader in the cause of liberty. How can
you expect us, therefore, to have any real feel-

194 As It Is in the Philippines.

ings of love for such men? Of course, we are

conquered. My people have the art of dissimu-
lating their feelings, and this is what fools the
Commission every time they take one of their
flying trips through the Provinces, when the
bands turn out, the girls dance, banquets are
the order of the day, and enthusiastic loyalty
is apparent on every side. Why, my dear sir,
do you think that such things were not done
within every pueblo, in the days of the old Span-
ish Governor-Generals ? The people simply wor-
shipped them when they went around, and the
reports to the Governor remind me very much
of similar reports sent by the Spanish. If my
people could be kept from insurrection for, say,
a generation, and at the same time given a sys-
tem of government that has some fundamental
principles of freedom in it, such as trial by jury
and the right to vote for all offices, only the Gov-
ernor himself being appointed from America,
then it is possible that the Filipino race might
become reconciled to their present condition as
subjects of the United States."

The Filipino, whatever he may seem to
be on the surface, certainly does not love for-
eigners. He manages to control his feelings and
to assume an air of loyalty when he thinks it
judicious so to do.

As It Is in the Philippines. 195

There are many views with regard to the
Philippines, all of which certainly cannot be
right, and the author is endeavoring in this book
to give the views of the majority of the peo-
ple he has come in contact with in the Philip-
pines, rather than his own opinion, which he will
express in a later chapter.

CHAPTER XV.

Business Outlook in the Philippines. — Increase in Num-
ber of Banks. — Difficulties Under Which Business
Labors. — Only Two American Firms Before Ameri-
can Occupation. — Numbers of Firms Successful. —
A Merchant to Represent the Mercantile Interests
of the Philippines When Congress Meets. — Busi-
ness Men Desire Representation on the Commis-
sion.— Price of Meat and Other Foods. — Transporta-
tion.

The growth of American business in the Phil-
ippines since 1898, has not been anything ap-
proaching what was expected of it, and the
greater part of the business that has gone there,
has been either in connection with the army and
navy or to supply Americans. On the real trade
of the country as it existed in Spanish times,
American business has made very little impres-
sion.

Capital has held aloof from the Philippines,
largely owing to the uncertainty as to the fu-
ture, and awaits some decided action of Congress.

As It Is in the Philippines. 197

The minor capitalists have been practically-
blocked out by the action of the Civil Commis-
sion.

The banking business of the Philippines up
to September, 1901, was in the hands of two Eng-
lish and one Spanish bank — the Hong Kong
and Shanghai Banking Corporation, The Chart-
ered Bank of India, China and Australia, and
the Bank of Spain. In September, 1901, the
American Bank commenced operations, Major
Charles P. Newberry being president, and Major
H. B. Mulford, cashier. Both of these gentle-
men had been officers of volunteer regiments, and
had returned to the Philippines to take part in
what is called "the uplifting of the Filipinos."
The bank has done a conservative business and
is doing fairly well. Since that time, three other
American banks have started, the Guaranty
Trust Company, of New York, The International
Banking Company and the North American and
Philippines Loan and Trust Company.

Prior to the occupation, the only two Amer-
ican business firms doing business in the Phil-
ippines, were the Standard Oil Company and
Messrs. Henry W. Peabody and Company, the
latter having been engaged in the hemp and other
business. Despite the fact that capital has not
poured into the country in any large quantities,

198 As It Is in the Philippines.

excepting that shipped in by the Government, a
number of persons have gone into all sorts of
businesses in the Philippines, a considerable num-
ber of them being volunteer officers and soldiers.

The apparent antagonism of the Commis-
sion to everything in the Philippines connected
with American business, compelled these men
to organize an American Chamber of Commerce
for the protection of their own interests, believ-
ing that it could be done better as a body than
by individual representation to the Commission.
Since that time, if American business has had
nothing done on its behalf, it has received slightly
more consideration from the Commission. It is
estimated that, independent of the army, there
are forty thousand Americans in the Philippines,
fifteen thousand of whom live in Manila, so that
it will be seen that from this number alone, in-
dependent of all Filipinos and foreigners, there
was room for a number of small businesses, es-
pecially taking into consideration the fact that
there were seventy thousand soldiers at one time,
volunteers and regulars.

Two or three firms in the general supply busi-
ness have done a large amount of business, nota-
bly the American Commercial Company. The
Pacific and Oriental Trading Company and the
North American Trading Company. These

As It Is in the Philippines. 199

three firms have agencies in every place of size
throughout the Archipelago, and are even en-
croaching on the trade formerly held by Span-
ish, English and German houses.

Besides the two firms already mentioned as
being in existence when the American occupa-
tion took place and the three just mentioned,
the principal business houses established have
been the Philippine Lumber and Development
Company, The Philippine Transportation and
Construction Company, Castle Brothers, Wolf
and Son, E. C. McCullough, Cameron and
McLoughlin, and Macondray and Company. All
these firms are doing a successful business in the
Philippines, very successful in fact, considering
the way in which they are handicapped.

Efforts to establish a brewery failed, as the
San Miguel Brewery has a concession which still
has a number of years to run. The beer they
make is of a poor quality and the consequence
is that imported beer is mostly drunk. There has
been some talk on the part of American capital-
ists of establishing a brewery in Hong Kong, and
shipping the beer over in bulk to Manila, which
is only two days' journey away, but nothing
has come of the proposition thus far. There
were several efforts made to obtain rapid tran-

200 As It Is in the Philippines.

sit in a street car line, but they still run with
the diminutive Filipino ponies.

The hotels have all become Americanized and
are under American control and management,
the Oriente, which was the old Spanish hotel,
being the principal one. It is full the greater
part of the time, and does a big business. The
same may be said of the English hotel, on the
Escolta, and the Luneta Grand hotel, both of
which are under American management.

The newspapers have already been alluded to
in a previous chapter. All of those printed in
English are now owned by Americans, the dailies
being the "Times," "American/' "Freedom" and
"Bulletin," and the weeklies, the "Critic," and the
"Volcano." All of them, judging by their
advertising columns, seem to be doing well.

The public holidays appointed by the Com-
mission, are New Year's Day, Washington's
Birthday, the Fourth of July, Thanksgiving Day,
Christmas Day and Rizal Day. Other public
holidays generally kept besides those appointed
by the Commission, are: February 2nd, Purifi-
cation ; Good Friday ; May 8th, Ascension ; May
29th, Corpus Christi; Decoration Day; August
15th, Assumption; Labor Day; November ist,
All Saints' Day ; November 30th, Saint Andrew's.

For the benefit of the Filipino himself, every

As It Is in the Philippines. 201

effort should be made by the Commission to urge
capitalists to commence operations in the Phil-
ippines. The Filipinos who have money prefer
living on their incomes, rather than investing
in any business that will give employment to the
natives, and yet there are great business oppor-
tunities in the Philippines. The soil is fertile,
and experiments by agriculturists prove that al-
most every form of agriculture may be under-
taken with the most gratifying results. More
than seven-tenths of the soil of the Philippine
Islands has never been under cultivation. The
greater part of it could produce hemp, sugar,
indigo, corn, tobacco, coffee, cotton, bananas, or-
anges, cocoanuts, mangoes, pineapples, mango-
stines, tomatoes, etc. Some of the most valuable
wood in the world is obtained in the Philip-
pines and there are large quantities of it. The
most valuable varieties are probably the rubber
tree, ebony, sandal, camphor and teak. Sulphur
has been found in Leyte, gold and copper in
Luzon, petroleum and coal in Iloilo and Cebu.

There are five theatres in Manila, two of which
are attended by Americans and foreigners, and
the other three by Spaniards and Filipinos. The
National Opera House and the Zorrilla Grand
are the two American and European, while the
Teatro Libertad, Teatro Filipino and Teatro Paz

202 As It Is in the Philippines.

are attended by the Spaniards and Filipinos. The
traveling shows that occasionally put into Manila,
have not been of a very high order, except-
ing in very rare cases, the Philippines being
rather out of the way of the regular theatrical
line of travel. The best thus far have been
some companies returning from Australia to the
United States.

There are four Chambers of Commerce in
Manila, the American, English, Spanish and Chi-
nese, and occasionally they meet together and
act for the general benefit and welfare of the
business interests in the Philippines. It is prob-
able that some business man will be appointed
at the next session of Congress by the combined
Chambers, to represent their interests in Wash-
ington, as it is feared that all the business in-
terests in the Philippines were completely sac-
rificed at the last session, through the political
ambitions of a certain gentleman who went to
Washington pledged to act in behalf of these
interests, instead of which his every action
seemed to be antagonistic thereto. A man who
has been prominently mentioned is Mr, W. L.
Brown, the manager of the American Commer-
cial Company, one of the most popular business
men in the Philippines, who has been there since
the early days of the occupation. He has worked

As It Is in the Philippines. 203

up an immense business and is better known as
Mayor Brown. His liberality and hospitality are
known to everybody in Manila, and there is lit-
tle doubt that he would be a good representative
of the business men of Manila in Washington,
and would look after their interests well. An-
other gentleman who has been prominent, is Cap-
tain F. E. Green, the President of the Philip-
pines Lumber and Development Company, who
is a former officer of a volunteer regiment, and
is also the President of the American Chamber
of Commerce, as well as connected with other
business interests in the Philippines, so that it
is doubtful if he could get away for a long
enough time to attend a whole session of Con-
gress. Mr. H. T. Hilbert, the manager of the
Pacific and Oriental Trading Company, has also
been mentioned in connection with the representa-
tion. Any of these three men or several others
that have not been mentioned, no doubt, could
be of great use in Washington, giving informa-
tion, of which Congress seems absolutely igno-
rant. Its members certainly were not enlightened
by anything that was told them by anybody who
appeared before the Committee at the last session
of Congress.

The merchants of Manila believe that business
should be represented on the Commission, which

204 As It Is in the Philippines.

at present contains only lawyers and education-
alists, and an effort will be made to get the
President to appoint either somebody in business
in the Philippines, or else some man of unques-
tionable business ability in the United States, to
represent the business interests on the Commis-
sion.

The means of transportation in the Philippines,
particularly in Manila, are varied, the caribao
cart being the most prominent in the transporta-
tion of goods not connected with the Government.
The caribao is an animal the size of a big ox,
with long horns. It requires a tremendous
amount of water, which is absorbed through the
pores of the skin, the caribao sleeping in the
water at night. He goes at a very slow rate
of speed, but lack of water will make him crazy
and start him "running amuck," and when a
caribao runs amuck, it is a good time to get out
of the way, for there is going to be a consider-
able amount of damage done before he is shot or
brought under control.

There is probably no place of its size in the
world, where so many people own their
private conveyances, with one or more ponies.
Most of the residents own two. The carriages
are of various types and descriptions, generally
lightly made, so that they can easily be pulled

As It Is in the Philippines. 205

by the diminutive Filipino ponies. The two prin-
cipal pony rigs are the carometta and the calesin,
which are also the two types most used for hire
on the streets. There are many hundreds of
them, but yet one often walks the whole of the
distance he may be going without being able
to obtain one. An old Spanish custom, which,
for a considerable time, was kept up by the
Americans, was that the carriages used by the
Government officials which were the property
of the Government, were painted yellow. These
carriages had the right of way and could go
over bridges where toll was levied without pay-
ing, but they have now become things of the
past. There are about eight or ten automobiles
in use, one being the property of Commissioner
Worcester, who is an enthusiastic automobilist.
Several hundred bicycles also form a portion of
the transportation facilities of the Philippines,
but the good old army mule still holds its own,
and is seen in twos and fours, dragging heavy
loads from daylight to dark.

CHAPTER XVI.

Social Life in the Philippines. — The Clubs of Manila.
— Captain Ramsey's Success With the Army and
Navy Club. — Taft President of University. — Im-
mense Growth of American Club in One Year. — To
Build Magnificent Quarters. — Private Entertaining
on a Large Scale. — Chaffee Most Popular Man in
the Philippines. — "The Brains of the Commission."
— Dinner Organizations. — Naval Entertaining. —
Women in the Tropics. — Launch Parties.

The best part of the day in the Philippines is
that devoted to social life, which, as in all trop-
ical countries, is generally made enjoyable, and
it is a pleasure to get off the street and out of
the office into some of the clubs, with a cooling
lemonade or other means of refreshment, and
to get under the punkah or into the radius of
the electric fan. There are several clubs in Ma-
nila, to suit all classes and all purses, and life
within their walls is made pleasant for the mem-
bers.

First in goint of age comes the Manila Club,

As It Is in the Philippines. 207

that is, of English speaking clubs, as there is
a Spanish club, which is of older date. The
Manila Club is best known in Manila as the
English Club, the majority of the members be-
ing of that nationality, although there are a num-
ber of Germans and other foreigners, and,
since the American occupation, several Amer-
icans. It has a fine house in Ermita,
one of the suburbs of Manila, and in addition,
for the benefit of the members, has a tiffin club
downtown, where members can drop in and see
the papers and take their lunch. The club also
has a library, which is a first-class one, and is
kept at the tiffin club. All business closes in
Manila between twelve and two, and after lunch
one may see rows of members sitting under the
punkahs with their legs extended on the lc«ig
easy-chairs, indulging in the tropical forty
winks known as the siesta. Old residents of
the tropics will all tell one that the man who
takes his siesta regularly every day, will stand
tropical life twice as long as the man who does
not.

One of the first clubs established after the
American regime was the Army and Navy Club,
which has moved twice before entering its pres-
ent commodious quarters. This club has been,
especially within the past fourteen or fif-

208 As It Is in the Philippines.

teen months, the centre of social life of
Manila, and the fortnightly ladies' dinners
have saved many a hostess from annoy-
ance and worry as to how she could best
entertain, as the majority of the members who
are married do their entertaining at the club on
those nights, when from seventy to one hun-
dred and fifty people are entertained at din-
ner, and twice that number probably arrive af-
terwards to attend the military concert that is
generally provided. The club has never been
a failure, but its present successful existence, is
due mainly to the untiring energy of Captain F.
De W. Ramsey, who has a knack of organiza-
tion and a wonderful ability in carrying out his
ideas, in addition to which he is popular, pleas-
ant to deal with, warm-hearted and open-handed.
Captain Ramsey has made the Army and Navy
Club one of the most successful and prosper-
ous organizations in the Philippines, and it is
to be hoped that his successor, whoever he may
be, will carry on the club on the lines laid down
by Captain Ramsey, who is unfortunately obliged
to leave, his official duties requiring him to go
to the United States with General Chaffee, one
of whose aides he is. General Chaffee having
become acquainted with his value when in China,
where he was an officer of the Ninth U. S. In-

As It Is in the Philippines. 209

fantry. The president of the club is generally the
commanding officer of the division.

The next club to appear on the horizon of
Manila's social life was the University Club,
which has about a hundred and twenty members.
The idea of its formation was that there should
be a distinctively civil club under American man-
agement, as distinct from the Army and Navy,
several preferring to have a club of their own in-
stead of joining the already established Manila
Club. Accordingly, a few gentlemen got to-
gether and established the University Club,
Governor Taft being the President, Com-
missioner Wright and Doctor Atkinson the Vice-
Presidents. The club has moved from its first
location to larger quarters facing the Luneta, on
the Ermita side. This enables members to lis-
ten to the evening music of the military band that
plays there, and twice a week the members are
allowed to bring ladies to afternoon tea, where
they enjoy sitting in the long front room, and
looking on at the life outside. In the winter,
when the band does not play in the club house,
a musical tea, which is always well attended, is
held on alternate Mondays.

A little over a year ago, there came into exist-
ence a club that has since proved to be an im-
mense success. It was felt that Americans in

210 As It Is in the Philippines.

the Philippines should band themselves together
for some definite purpose, and the result was
the formation of the American Club, which has
had a marvelously successful career, its pres-
ent membership being in the neighborhood of a
thousand. The object of the club has been kept
to the front, and social qualifications cut no fig-
ure in election to membership. All that is nec-
essary is that a man be an American, that he be
a man of good character and average intelligence.
This democratic feeling is shown in everything
connected with the club, and the members are
loyal to the institution. The President is Major
Liddell, who is one of the city magistrates of
Manila. On all American holidays the club gives
receptions with some sort of appropriate exer-
cises, which are attended by the civil and mili-
tary governors and prominent speakers. Eventu-
ally the club unquestionably will become the focus
of all American politics in the Philippines, and
its membership, probably within the next few
months, will be in the neighborhood of two thou-
sand. The members contemplate building a club
house facing the sea, with a swimming pool,
gymnasium, library, and all other modem conven-
iences, at a cost of something like a million dol-
lars, the funds for which they are now endeav-
oring to obtain. There are numerous other clubs

As It Is in the Philippines. 211

in Manila, such as the French Club, the German
Club, the Caledonian Club and the Press Club,
as well as athletic clubs and associations.
Of course baseball has established itself in
the Philippines in the last four years, and is
there to stay, there being several clubs of that
nature, so that a league has been formed. If
the games do not come up to the standard of
one of the American league games, at all events
the enjoyment of those attending them is just
as keen and probably more so.

Of course, there is a great deal of entertain-
ing in Manila by those who can afford it, and it
is the one phase of life where the civil and mili-
tary authorities have always got on well together.
Governor and Mrs. Taft do much entertaining, as
do Acting Governor and Mrs. Wright, the lat-
ter of whom is a noted hostess and just the lady
for the position she has to occupy as the leader
of social life in Manila. General and Mrs. Chaf-
fee also have entertained largely, and their rep-
utation as host and hostess had preceded them
from Cuba, where the General was Chief of
Staff to the Governor-General, before he went to
China.

To mention the social life of Manila or even
to write a book on the Philippines would be in-
complete without mentioning the name of the

212 As It Is in the Philippines.

Honorable A. W. Fergusson, the Executive Sec-
retary of the Commission, who is better known
in Manila as "the brains of the Commission."
Mr. and Mrs. Fergusson have a beautiful house,
and they entertain lavishly, giving dinners,
dances, fancy dress balls and children's parties,
and Mrs. Fergusson is never so much at home
as when making others happy. Mr. Fergusson
himself is a man of considerable ability, speak-
ing Spanish with a fluency not excelled by any
Spanish-speaking resident of Manila, and his ap-
pointment as a member of the Commission in-
stead of its executive secretary would have been
commendable. In fact, the hope is generally ex-
pressed that he will obtain the first vacancy. He
was formerly in the Bureau of South American
Republics in Washington.

Dinner organizations have been established in
Manila, the most prominent one being that of
the Monks of the Red Robe, which was origi-
nally established in Cuba, but a branch of which
came into existence in China and then followed
on to the Philippines. The dinners of the monks
have invariably been pleasant social affairs, the
number being limited absolutely to forty. No
governor, bishop or general is eligible to hold
office in the organization, though they all become
members, and they are taught at the dinner table

As It Is in the Philippines. 213

that there are occasions when the first is last
and the last is first. Probably the most success-
ful of all such organizations has been the Beef-
steak Club, which is limited to twenty, all of
whom either have to sing a song, tell a story,
or do something for the benefit of the rest when
dinner is concluded. The menu of the Beefsteak
Club is not elaborate and consists invariably of
the same dishes. Solids — beefsteak, vegetables,
potatoes, apple pie and cheese, welsh rarebit. Li-
quids— ale, stout, porter, beer, w'hisky and soda.
There are no French dishes or French wines,
but, at the same time, the members always enjoyed
themselves at these gatherings. Colonel Wood-
ruff, a noted orator in the Philippines, was Chief
Trencherman, Captain Ramsey, Carver, and the
author. Junior Trencherman. On nights such as
this, men relaxed themselves from the ordinary
primness and went in as boys do, for a good time
and plenty of enjoyment without overstepping the
bounds of propriety. General Chaffee, on such
occasions, was always at his best, and one could
be certain of getting a good story from the "old
man." It is a fact without contradiction, that
General Chaffee is the most popular American
ever in the Philippines. His personality, while
grim on the exterior, is kindly and happy, and

214 As It Is in the Philippines.

those who begin his acquaintance by disliking
him become his warmest admirers.

A very large number of American ladies whose
husbands or fathers are connected with the army
and navy, or with the civil rule, are at present
in the Philippines, and their number will increase
considerably during the winter, many going out
to join their husbands for that season. Naturally,
to them is largely due the attractions of social
life in Manila. A white woman remaining in
the Philippines for more than two years, suffers
a great loss of vitality, to recover which will
require many years, although she may not realize
it at the time. European doctors who have lived
in the Philippines for a number of years, all tell
the same tale, that, if possible, no woman should
stay there over a year without taking six months
in a colder clime, and no man over three years,
though the European business houses make five
years their term of service, before giving any
lengthy leave of absence.

The navy is a considerable figure in the social
life of Manila, and the entertainments held on
the various flagships when they are in Cavite, are
enjoyable occasions, all the big ships that have
been there having apparently vied with one an-
other to do all that they could in a social way
to make life in the tropics pleasant. Admirals

As It Is in the Philippines. 215

Remey, Rodgers and Wilde and the officers under
their command, one and all, have added consider-
ably to the gayety of Manila during the time
that they have been there. The big commercial
steamships that come into Manila frequently give
balls and receptions on board and these have al-
ways been popular. This was an old custom
in Spanish times, and is still kept up, many of
the skippers laying in supplies especially for these
occasions before they leave the home port en route
for Manila.

Another favorite form of entertainment in
Manila is the launch party, where the guests
go either in launches or in boats towed b}^
launches, up the river to some place where a
dance has been arranged, after which they re-
turn in the launches to Manila, where the car-
riages are waiting to drive them to their respect-
ive homes.

In the American and European life of Manila,
the Filipino is a small quantity, and there is
scarcely any social communication between the
two races. Of course, the Governor and the
Commissioners and high officials of the Govern-
ment, both civil and military, attend dinners,
musicals, and similar affairs, at the houses of
the most prominent Filipinos connected with the

216 As It Is in the Philippines.

Government, and there all social communication
may be said to cease, with the exception of a ball
or something of that nature given by the Partido
Federal or some other prominent organization.

CHAPTER XVII.

Who Are the Filipinos? — Like the Natives of Java. —
Have Some of the Facial Characteristics of the
Japanese. — Not Cowards in Action. — Treacherous.
— Wanting in Gratitude. — Untrustworthy. — Igno-
rant.— Vicious. — Immoral. — Lazy. — Ingenious but
Tricky. — Partido Federal Really Dominates Race. —
Alexandrino, Appointed by Commission with Blood
of Americans Wet on His Hands. — Katipunan So-
ciety.— Possible Solution of the Illness of Taft and
Funston.

Who and what are the Filipinos, what are
their characteristics, which of the many different
descriptions that have been given of them is ac-
curate, will be moot points in the minds of many-
people who will believe nothing of the subject
until they have had opportunity to judge for
themselves.

Probably the best description that can be ob-
tained, would be from members of the American
Club, many of whom have been soldiers, but
are now in civil life, and who have seen the Fil-

218 As It Is in the Philippines.

ipinos in their every phase. The original race
itself is of Malay origin and more like the natives
of Java than of any other country. In some
other respects, in appearance rather than in char-
acter, they are like the Japanese, though that
race is a much more hardy one, as is natural
in their splendid climate.

A great many persons say that the Filipinos
are cowardly, but according to the testimony of
the soldiers, they are not. Men who have seen
service say that when they have met the Filipinos
in a body, face to face, the latter have fought
bravely and well, and many Filipinos have shown
such individual courage on the field of battle that,
had they been Americans and acted similarly,
they would doubtless have earned the Congres-
sional medal of honor. In this sense, the author
is impressed from all the testimony he has re-
ceived, with the fact that the Filipino is anything
but a coward, but at the same time, he is cowardly
in that he prefers stabbing a man in the back
or shooting him from behind, when possible,
rather than fighting him face to face. All his-
tory has shown that the Malays are treacherous,
cruel and brutal, and the Filipino is no excep-
tion to this rule. The Commission says, and it
has been alluded to by Congress, that the Filipino
is refined, cultivated and honorable, but govern-

As It Is in the Philippines. 219

mental authorities in the United States, includ-
ing the President, allude to the inhuman manner
in which warfare has been conducted in the Phil-
ippines against the Americans, and it was given
as an excuse for occasional outrages by Amer-
ican soldiers, that the fighting of the Filipinos
was barbarous and that of semi-civilized savages.

It is difficult to reconcile the two descriptions.
The Filipinos as a race on occasions are refined
and cultivated, and also as a race, on other occa-
sions they are savages, or, if it be preferred, semi-
civilized savages, and in the latter definition one
will probably get the vote of a large majority
of the Americans who have been or are now in
the Philippines.

Treachery and dissimulation are as character-
istic of the Filipino's nature, as black hair and
eyes are of their physical appearance.

The highly intelligent, educated, high-class, so-
called Filipino, who has but a very small pro-
portion of the Filipino blood in his make-up,
and is at least seven-tenths Spanish, is Span-
ish in his characteristics, in his ways of thought
and in his action. A Spaniard, for instance,
marries a mestizo or half caste, and by her has
a daughter, who marries another Spaniard. The
children of this marriage are educated in Spain,
Paris, Berlin^ London, or some other European

220 As It Is in the Philippines.

capital, and there are many hundreds of such
men in the PhiHppines, and though, in one sense
they certainly are Filipinos, in that they have
been bom in the Philippines, they are not to be
compared with the pure-blood Filipinos any more
than is the white man of the United States to
be compared with the blanketed red Indian.

Those whom the Commission has appointed to
the majority of the highest offices, are these edu-
cated Filipinos, and on them the Commission
bases its judgment of the race. These men are
refined and cultivated, well educated and gentle-
manly in behavior, but they form a very small
proportion to the millions occupying the Phil-
ippines, and the majority of full-blooded Fil-
ipinos scarcely recognize them as being Filipinos.
Another element largely mixed with the Filipi-
nos is that of the Chinese. Probably one-twentieth
of the population has some Chinese blood in its
veins, and the mixture is not a pleasant spec-
tacle, it seemingly having combined the vices
of both races without any of the corresponding
virtues, and some of the most brutal atrocities
perpetrated on American soldiers or American-
istas have been by these Chinese mestizos.

"Our little brown brother," the Filipino pure
and simple, whom we all are so anxious to up-
lift to his proper plane upon earth and relieve

E. F. O'BRIEN.
Editor of " Freedom." Convicted of treason and sedition.

As It Is in the Philippines. 221

from the burden cast upon him by heredity and
a few hundred years of Spanish dominion, is
without doubt unreliable, untrustworthy, igno-
rant, vicious, immoral and lazy. In many ways
he is patient and ingenious over small things, and
he will work for weeks making a single straw
hat, which, when it is turned out, is almost the
equal of the finest Panama that is made ; but he is
tricky, and, as a race, more dishonest than any
known race on the face of the earth.

The Hindoo has a reputation for dishonesty
and sharp practice in the general dealings of life,
but the Hindoo is to the Filipino in this respect
as is white to black. The Filipino race, with the
exception of the Moros, may be said to be con-
trolled by a comparatively small number of per-
sons— a sort of unofficial Parliament, which has
always existed under some name or other, and
occasionally under no name at all. At present it
is called the Partido Federal, which was founded,
if not at the request, certainly at the sugges-
tion of the military authorities who at that time
were governing the Philippines. The object was
to get together the most prominent men in the
Philippines, and either by giving them govern-
ment positions or in some way obtaining for
them what they desired, to make friends of them

222 As It Is in the Philippines.

and thereby finish the guerilla warfare that was
then existing.

The idea resulted in perfect success. One
after another, as the big men surrendered
or came in the Partido Federal took the
credit for it, and probably justly so. The mem-
bers of the Partido Federal belong to the edu-
cated class before alluded to, or to the wealthy
among the pure blooded Filipinos, who are also
educated. They knew perfectly well that fur-
ther fighting was futile ; they preferred, as much
as possible, to get the credit for bringing in
those still out in the field, and they undoubtedly
used their best efforts to that end ; but to this
day the military authorities, through their secret
service, keep as close supervision as possible over
the doings of the various members of the Partido
Federal.

The Civil Commission received the Partido
Federal with open arms, and to a large extent
that body controls the native appointments
throughout the Archipelago. There is very little
doubt that the party is in thorough harmony with
the organization, which apparently has no name,
but is controlled by the members of the Partido
Federal, that collects from every Filipino work-
ing in Manila able to afford it, a dollar,
Mexican, a month. It is said on reliable author-

As It Is in the Philippines. 223

ity that over a hundred and fifty thousand dollars
a month are thus obtained. What the purpose
is is not given out, but it has connection with the
accomplishment of Filipino freedom, at least so
the author has been informed. On asking a
member of the Partido Federal, the author was
told that his information was to a certain extent
correct, but that it meant the obtaining of their
freedom by constitutional means.

The military authorities do not credit this view,
but believe, with considerable reason, that it is
the intention eventually, say in the course of
two or three years, when Filipino customs col-
lectors are in every port and all officials are Fili-
pinos, to import large quantities of arms and
ammunition of the latest type and pattern. An-
other very suspicious circumstance is the exceed-
ing interest which the Partido Federal takes in
the constabulary, an organization of natives, more
than half the officers of which are Americans.

The Civil Commission has been accused of ap-
pointing to office bad men, Filipinos of doubtful
reputation and with criminal records. One case
only need be cited — that of General Alexandrine,
on whose hands the blood of Americans and
Americanistas was still wet when he received his
appointment. His reputation for brutality and
savage acts committed on defenseless American

224 As It Is in the Philippines.

prisoners exceeds that of all the rest of the Fili-
pino generals put together. Numbers of men
have been executed by the military commission
for breaches of all laws of civilization in their
treatment of prisoners of war, their only defense
being that they were acting under the personal
orders and frequently in the presence of General
Alexandrino himself, and yet this savage, brutal
scoundrel is hand and glove with the Commission
and received one of the highest appointments in
their gift. He is a member of the Partido Fed-
eral.

Senor Buencamino, a member of the Federal
Party, an educated Filipino, and a member of the
Civil Service Commission, on his way to the
United States some months ago, in an interview
with a Honolulu newspaper, said:

"I approve fully the policy of General ChaflFee
and General Smith in the Philippines. The peo-
ple of the United States do not understand the
situation in the Islands, and the treatment of
the Filipinos may seem cruel to them, but it is
the only way in which they can ever be con-
quered."

Sefior Buencamino has mainly Spanish blood
in his veins, and in the course of his career has
been "everything by turns and nothing long."
He has been Spanish official, Filipino official, one

As It Is in the Philippines. 225

of the Secretaries of Government to Aguinaldo,
a member of the present government, and if some
other government was to come into power in the
Philippines he would be found ready and waiting
loyally for an office under any flag. Buencamino
used to consider Aguinaldo one of the greatest
men in the world. He declared, not long ago,
before the Senate Committee, that the Filipinos
looked towards Congress to give them a liberal
and just government under American sovereignty
(which implies that the government as constitut-
ed by the Commission is neither just nor liberal),
and that even as it was at present they had
more liberty than they had under Aguinaldo.
which, considering his close relations to Agui-
naldo at the time that individual was in power, is,
to say the least, a little ungrateful.

The Filipino on the witness stand is generally
not very intelligent, and the following dialogue
between the Judge Advocate and a witness in the
Glenn court martial on the water cure is an in-
stance in point :

Q. What quantity of water did you take ?

A. Four bottles or mere.

Q. Did you keep this water in your stomach?

A. Yes, sir, I kept it.

Q. Did you throw out any water?

A. Yes, sir, I vomited a little.

226 As It Is in the Philippines.

So that if the Judge Advocate had asked the
witness, "Did you feel as if you were dying?"
the witness would have answered, "I felt as if I
was dying."

Q. And did you die?

A. Yes, sir, I did.

An organization controlled to a great extent
by the full-blooded Filipinos is the Katipunan
Society, which has numerous branches through-
out the Archipelago. At present it is frowned
upon by the Partido Federal, as its purposes are
not at all to the liking of the latter. It repre-
sents what may be called the irreconcilable class.

Members of the Katipunan are bound to give
their lives, if necessary, to make their country
free, and to kill all foreigners, and they sign the
oaths of the organization in blood from their own
bodies. They also have a peculiar custom which
is prevalent in Java, Borneo and other parts of
the Malay Archipelago. This is the torturing
and killing of officials whom they do not like or
who are dangerous to their interests, and in such
a way that neither the victim nor his relatives are
aware that anything unusual is the matter. They
chop up very fine the inner bark of the bamboo,
so fine that when scattered it is almost impercept-
ible to the naked eye. Then they approach the
servants of the house or manage to get one of

As It Is in the Philippines. 227

their number into the house as a servant, whose
duty it is to place this powder in the cup or plate
of the individual in such a manner that the rest
of the family will not suffer from eating the
same dishes or drinking from the same coffee
pot, so that no suspicion of poison would attach.

At first it has little effect, but in a few days
considerable pain appears in the bowels and in-
testines, and it is asserted that the illness that
overtook Governor Taft and General Funston
was due to this ancient system of the Katipunan
Society. This much is certain, that they both
suffered considerably, and that the ordinary
operations seemed to have no effect save to re-
lieve the pain temporarily, and they had to be
reoperated upon in the United States when free
from the continuance of the cause of the disease.

The Partido Federal desires to establish and
gain the confidence of the Americans, as the best
means of getting control of the Archipelago ; con-
sequently the methods of the Katipunan Society
at present do not appeal to them.

CHAPTER XVIII.

Constabulary and Scouts. — Native Forces and the Work
They Are Doing. — Active Against Ladrones. —
Credit Due Captain H. T. Allen. — Possible Amal-
gamation of Constabulary and Scouts into Native
Army. — Commission Would Nominate Allen for
Brigadier. — Will Native Forces Be Loyal in the
Next Insurrection? — Probabilities Against It. — Un-
pleasant Forebodings of the Future.

The experiment with native troops is being
conducted upon two different lines, one being the
scouts under the command of officers who are
Americans, with two or three exceptions, and the
other being the constabulary, commanded by
Americans and natives in about equal propor-
tions.

The scouts are drilled and disciplined as sol-
diers, and are mainly recruited from members of
the lower class who had broken somewhat from
the iron rule of the "principals" and who many
times served the American forces long prior to
the organization of the Philippine scouts. Be-

As It Is in the Philippines. 229

sides, several companies are composed of Maca-
bebes, that class of soldiers by profession, from a
small district in Pampanga Province, and many
other companies have large proportions of veter-
ans of the Spanish guardia civil and other forces.

On the other hand, the constabulary is raised in
the same district in which it serves. It was re-
cruited mostly after the surrender and disband-
ment of the insurgent forces, and is largely com-
posed, as to the rank and file, of the former Fili-
pino soldiers. Many of the native inspectors are
also of the same class and were former insurgent
officers.

These men are obedient to the "principal" class,
and the question is, if orders for an insurrection
should be passed secretly around when the
American garrison of the Philippine Islands gets
down to fifteen thousand men, the figure which it
has nearly reached, what would happen? The
scouts would fight for the United States without
doubt, unless the rising was great and universal,
in which case they also would probably go over.
A large number of the constabulary would go
over, if their native officers led them. The situa-
tion would depend therefore largely upon the at-
titude of the native officers.

The few scout officers would be loyal, but the
spirit of the higher classes towards the native

230 As It Is in the Philippines.

forces is very different as to the two. It may
be said to be hostile to the scouts, who are looked
upon as in the service of the Americans ; friendly
or lukewarm to the constabulary, which is re-
garded as a "national" force.

The feeling of the men of each class is not
very friendly to all appearances. The scouts
view themselves as soldiers and the others as
police, and the constabulary consider themselves
to be soldiers and the others "Americanistas."

When a Province was declared under civil rule
by the Commission, those insurgents remaining
in the field ceased to be considered insurrectos
but were called ladrones, and regarded as such,
and it was to capture these ladrones that the
constabulary was considered especially fitted.
The constabulary has certainly received many
surrenders when there was no doubt that noth-
ing would happen excepting release and payment
for the guns of those surrendering. It is sur-
prising the number of former Americanistas who
suddenly developed into ladrones, if the state-
ments of the constabulary are to be believed,
and many have been captured and punished ac-
cordingly.

So far as maintaining the authority of the civil
government in most of the towns of the Islands
is concerned, the constabulary is the hope of

As It Is in the Philippines. 231

the Philippines for the future, and, more and
more, from this time forward, until the next
insurrection breaks out, the work of the army
will be strictly military duty. It will be less
and less police and deputy sheriff work.

The constabulary is a police force, and, in ad-
dition to its other duties, has advisory control
over the municipal police of the towns. Never-
theless, although its principal function is police
work, the constabulary has many of the qualifi-
cations of troops. When led by the right offi-
cers, there is no doubt of its ability to stand fire.
This was proved not long ago in Sorsogon, when
a detachment of five was attacked by two or
three hundred insurgents. They stood their
ground, and fought until their ammunition was
gone and three of their number wounded and
captured. Then the two remaining made a dash
to escape, jumping into the sea and swimming
a long distance. The principal natives of the
constabulary are in close touch with the Partido
Federal, and it is the desire of that party to
squelch brigandage, and in every way to pacify
the Archipelago, and to run things so smoothly
for a time that almost all the American soldiers
will be taken away.

The force itself and its work have been ex-
tensively exploited in print. The total enroll-

232 As It Is in the Philippines.

ment at the beginning of July, 1901, was five
thousand men, all natives, and nearly every race
and tribe in the Islands were reperesented, with
the exception of the Negritos, it being the policy
to give each different people guards from among
their own kind, so far as it was possible, believ-
ing that this plan would prevent the engender-
ing of friction and the breeding of hostility.

Their pay varies in the different Provinces
according to what is considered living wages
in that particular Province. The maximum pay
is: first sergeant, 50 pesos, Mexican; sergeant,
40 pesos; corporal, 35 pesos; first-class private,
25 pesos ; second class private, 20 pesos. The
men ration themselves excepting when in the
field. As a rule they buy their native food from
the little tiendas in the towns where they are
stationed. The Oriental has certain peculiarities
of taste which makes it difficult for the Anglo-
Saxon to cater to him, as yet. The officers pro-
cure their provisions largely from the Constabu-
lary Commissary, which is the civil supply store,
eked out with such products of the country as
are procurable. The inspectors, as the officers
are called, number two hundred and twenty-five,
about one-fourth of whom are natives, who have
demonstrated, at all events, that they have the
absolute confidence of their men.

As It Is in the Philippines. 233

Broken up into small bands under low-rank-
ing inspectors, they may be found scattered
throughout the pueblos and barrios of the Archi-
pelago, with the exception of the Sulu Archipel-
ago, about three-fourths of the Island of Min-
danao and the Island of Mindoro.

The armament of the constabulary is somewhat
varied. About four-fifths of the men are armed
with the Springfield carbine, and the remaining
fifth with shot guns. As the object of the con-
stabulary is supposed to be peace and not war,
it was thought that the shot gun would prob-
ably prove the more effective weapon. About
one-fourth of the force in each Province is
mounted, and forms a useful body when unex-
pectedly called upon to go to a considerable dis-
tance, in response to any sudden call for assist-
ance. It had been the intention to mount a larger
portion of the force, which will probably be done
later, but the surra and glanders have wrought
so much havoc among the native ponies in the
Provinces, that it has been almost impossible
to procure them for the service at the price al-
lowed by the Commission.

The constabulary has an incipient signal corps,
although not organized as such. Wherever the
military no longer needed them, the telephone
and telegraph lines were turned over to the con-

234 As It Is in the Philippines.

stabulary, which is intrusted with the care of
them. About a thousand miles of line have been
turned over to them in this way. They make no
attempt to operate the telegraph lines, having
no operators, although in time the government
school for telegraph operators will supply na-
tives capable of doing this work, but the constab-
ulary keeps the lines in repair, which it is able
to do with such skilled labor as can be secured
in the Provinces, and it also has men who are
able to operate the telephone exchanges, and this
system is of service in conducting the work.

In certain portions of the Islands, in the wild-
est regions, the constabulary carries the mail.

The longest route is one from Bantista, in Pan-
gasinan Province, through Nueva Viscaya Prov-
ince to Echague, on the head waters of the
Cagayan river. The mail is carried on ponies
with a guard of a corporal and six men. The
constabulary also has a water branch consisting
of four boats, the "Rover," which is stationed
in Viscayas, the "Ranger," plying about southern
Luzon, the "Scout," in the waters of northern
Luzon, and the "Pope," in Laguna de Bay. The
three former are each one hundred and ten feet
long, and the "Pope" measures only sixty. These
boats are not only used to carry men between the
various posts, but transfer supplies that have to

As It Is in the Philippines. 235

be distributed by the Insular Government, such
as the Purchasing Agent has to forward. There
is an inspector on each boat aside from the sail-
ing master, and upon him devolves the duties
that an army quartermaster has to perform on
a transport. A guard of six men usually goes
along with each boat.

The chief civil employees in the Provinces to
be supplied from the constabulary commissary
besides the constabulary inspectors themselves,
are the school teachers. The constabulary sup-
plies the inspectors who have the duties of base
quartermasters and base commissaries to per-
form in the principal port towns, forwarding
not only provisions, but other civil supplies.

The constabulary has done good work among
the actual ladrones or brigands, not those who
were merely called so by the Commission, be-
cause they had not surrendered when the Com-
mission decided to call the Province pacified,
and they have diminished ladronism in Zambales,
Bangasinan, Nueva Ecija and Pampanga, and
it has practically been stamped out in Buelacan,
Tarlac, Rizal, Albay and in the Camarines. The
constabulary also has considerably reduced the
number of ladrones in Cavite. After the sur-
render of the insurrecto forces in Samar, when
there was no further field for insurrectos in the

236 As It Is in the Philippines.

Province of Leyte, the remaining insurrectos sur-
rendered in that Province to the constabulary,
and there is little doubt that they received orders
to do so from the headquarters of the Partido
Federal in Manila. A rather remarkable fact is,
that of these five thousand men, all raw recruits
within a year, only ten have deserted. Only one
case was traceable to disloyalty, dissatisfaction
with the service, women and debt being account-
able for the others.

The chief of this service, who has welded the
body together, and made what, for the present,
certainly may be considered a highly efficient
organization, and one that he may well feel proud
of, is Captain H. T. Allen, of the Sixth Cavalry,
who was a Major in the Forty-third Volunteer
Infantry. He is a graduate of West Point, and
has spent a number of years abroad, having been
military attache at Berlin and St. Petersburg.
Captain Allen is a soldier, and selects soldiers
as his assistants, and expects them to make sol-
diers of the enlisted men. Most of the Amer-
ican inspectors are men who have had rank in
the volunteer army, or were non-commissioned
officers in the regular army. They are a lot of
young, well trained, well disciplined men, loyal
to the service that they are endeavoring to bring
to perfection.

As It Is in the Philippines. 237

The scouts are a portion of the United States
Army, and the officers of the scouts are on the
regular army list. No officers of the scouts have
at present a higher rank than that of first lieu-
tenant, although there are provisions for mak-
ing the number of the force five thousand. It
has been suggested that when the army has been
reduced below the fifteen thousand at present
in the Island, the scouts and the constabulary
should be amalgamated into a native Philippine
army, officered by about one-half Americans and
one-half natives. If this should be accomplished,
there is very little doubt that the Commission
would nominate Captain Allen as Brigadier-Gen-
eral, and for such an appointment in the Philip-
pine army he is admirably qualified.

As to the advisability of having a Philippine
army or even the organizations at present in ex-
istence, which amounts to the same thing, there
is considerable difference of opinion. When the
time of trouble comes, as it is certain to do in
the opinion of nearly every army man who has
lived in the Provinces, and has been behind the
scenes, will the scouts and constabulary be loyal,
or will they not rather be an organized body
ready to start the revolution for independence?
Would they not rise and massacre every white
officer, and with the organization take the leading

238 As It Is in the Philippines.

cities in the Provinces, and even Manila itself,
before troops could be sent from the United
States in sufficient numbers to retake the Archi-
pelago ?

Such a success on their part would bring to
the front every man in the Philippines capable
of bearing arms, for in four or five years they
would no longer be a crowd of ignorant bolo
men, but soldiers trained in the manual of arms.
Before such an insurrection would be under-
taken, an immense reserve supply of arms suf-
ficient to arm half a million would be accu-
mulated. Such a revolution would not be quelled
as quickly as the last has been, but would cost
an immense expenditure of blood and money, in
addition to which there would be a massacre
of whites throughout the Archipelago, and there
is little doubt that for a time, at all events, the
Philippines would be in the hands of the Fil-
ipinos.

This is no fancy sketch of a vague possibility,
but is a grave possibility, in the opinion of sev-
eral thousands of Americans who have been and
are now in the Philippines. Time alone can
prove whether it will come to pass or not.

CHAPTER XIX.

The Author's Views.— The Utter Failure in the Matter
of Statesmanship. — Governor Taft a Politician, noli
a Diplomat. — Good Lawyer but Poor Executive. —
Credit Deserved for Minor Accomplishments. — In-
surrection Not Probable before Five Years.

In the preceding chapter the author has en-
deavored to give the situation as it is at the
present time, as seen by the vast majority of
Americans in the Philippines, and as far as pos-
sible not to inflict his own views on the pub-
lic. In this chapter, however, it is the inten-
tion of the author to give his own version of what
he considers to be the situation there.

The general public of the United States knows
but little of anything connected with the Phil-
ippines for the past fifteen months, since civil
rule went into effect. In the first place, who
has been heard from? The army has not been
permitted to talk ; very few of its members would
have done so in any case, as no member of the

240 As It Is in the Philippines.

army, officer or enlisted man, is permitted to
criticise the actions of superior officers. In a few
instances, where some one in the army has told
the truth publicly with regard to the situation in
the Philippines, he has been promptly squelched,
which has had the effect of closing the mouths
all the more tightly. The average civilian in
the Philippines has no particular object in mak-
ing public the situation, and prefers to sit, after
the work of the day is over, in the American
Club, the Press Club, or one of the other resorts,
and talk of trouble to come and the poor prospect
ahead for the Philippines, and pray for a gov-
ernment that knows the wants and the best inter-
ests of the people, both Filipinos and Americans.
Practically the only ones who have been heard
from are high civil officials, such as Governor
Taft and the members of the Commission,
through letters sent home. These are the very
last men to know and realize the situation in
the Philippines. The reports sent to them all
trend in a certain direction, and their trips into
the interior have convinced them of the truth-
fulness of the reports. They cannot realize the
insincerity of the demonstrations that greet them,
the last of which was, according to the oldest in-
habitants of the place, the greatest in the history
of the Philippines, for that particular location.

As It Is in the Philippines. 241

In reading the story of the Indian mutiny, one
is forced to the conclusion that the Hindus, like
the Filipinos, are artists in dissimulation, for
the very last people to believe that the rebellion
was coming were those in the immediate com-
mand of the native troops. Colonels and officers
who swore by their men, their loyalty and their
devotion, were among the first to be massacred,
and it is the same in the Philippines to-day.
Members of the Civil Commission and the white
governors of Provinces are practically the only
ones who do not see the distant storm signals, not
that in the opinion of the writer there will be
another insurrection within the next five years,
although the average man in the Philippines puts
it down at a much less time than that.

The Commission has blundered and blundered
and blundered. With the best intentions in the
world, with honesty and integrity of purpose, it
has passed laws which were useless, and put men
in office who are disgraces even to the Filipino
race. These things must have become patent
to the Commission itself, for they have done
all they could to suppress any criticism what-
soever of their actions.

A law was passed muzzling the press. Mem-
bers of the Commission wrote to those they con-
sidered influential, abusing all those who had sent

242 As It Is in the Philippines.

or written anything against the sacred majesty
of themselves. Three correspondents who had
been in the Philippines, and had written their
views on the subject, were characterized as sen-
sational, as liars and as knowing nothing what-
ever in regard to the existing situation. They
all had been in the Philippines for some time,
and had studied fairly and intelligently the situ-
ation, and their deductions were the same as those
of the author.

Stephen Bonsall, who wrote on the situ-
ation for the New York "Herald" and
the magazines, has probably received the
most abuse from the members of the
Commission. Sydney Adamson, for "Leslie's
Weekly," has also fallen in for a shower,
while the "Widow's" exposure of affairs in
"Town Topics" has also been the subject of
considerable criticism. Had these writers re-
mained longer in the Philippines, and extended
their series of letters and articles, the situation
as it exists would probably be more familiar
to the people of the United States than it is
at present.

There are no correspondents for newspapers
in the Philippines at present, other than those
of The Associated Press and the Laffan Press
Association, and it is not the province of these

As It Is in the Philippines. 243

correspondents to touch on the poHtical situa-
tion, but merely to record the day's happenings
as they occur. Consequently little of the situa-
ti<Mi can be learned from their dispatches.

Attacks have been made at certain times
against the honesty and the integrity and even
the morality of some members of the Commission,
but there seems but little to base such charges
upon ; at all events, nobody has openly stated his
opinion in a public court. There is little doubt
that their honesty is irreproachable, but honesty
and incompetence do not constitute a good gov-
ernment, though probably a better one than would
dishonesty and ability.

Governor Taft is unquestionably, to judge
from all reports, a good lawyer, but he is not
a good executive. The Honorable Luke E.
Wright is an estimable gentleman of charming
manners and courteous bearing, but he lacks the
knowledge of the first principles of government.
He would not make a good governor, even of
his own State in the Union, and still less does
he make one for a place like the Philippines,
where such a position demands a more unusual
mixture of qualities than most men possess. As
for the other American members of the Commis-
sion, Dean Worcester, H. C. Ide and Professor
Moses, they all seem skilful and intelligent men

244 As It Is in the Philippines.

in their particular walks of life, but not one of
them has the necessary qualities to understand,
much less to govern, the wily Filipino, "our lit-
tle brown brother." The Filipino members of
the Commission may be classed as nonentities,
ready to vote with the Governor, should such an
unusual thing happen as the defection of the
white commissioners, but there is very little prob-
ability of such a thing happening, as the pay is
good and the position an important one, and
the members of the Commission are very well
aware that the slightest word of the Governor
in Washington, that some one of the members
was uncongenial to the rest of the Commission,
would have due effect.

Governor Taft boasts of his judiciary system.
In theory this system is good; in practice it
has not proved so. The judiciary is subject ab-
solutely and entirely to the Commission ; or, in
other words, to the Governor. He appoints them,
he dismisses them, and the Governor of the Phil-
ippines to-day is an autocrat more powerful in
his domain than is the ruler of Russia in the
vast dominions of the Czar. Governor Taft to-day
is a military despot but lightly veiled with a civil
title. He is the Governor in name and in fact,
and to him and to him alone can be attributed

As It Is in the Philippines. 245

the success or failure of the doings of the pres-
ent Commission.

The author believes that for the present in
the Philippines, the autocratic form of govern-
ment is justifiable and desirable, but Governor
Taft is not the man for the place. It has always
been a mystery to the author why such a suc-
cessful form of government as was conducted
in Cuba, was not duplicated in the Philippines.
Surely it is impossible that the reason was that
there was no man in the country willing to take
the position, the equal in ability of General Wood.
Able as that gentleman is, surely his peer could
have been found to do a similar work in the
Philippine Archipelago. Such a man as Gov-
ernor of the Philippines, neither civil nor milita-
ry, but Governor pure and simple, with a Filipino
cabinet, on the same lines as the one General
Wood had in Cuba, would have been infinitely
more satisfactory to the natives and unquestion-
ably more so to the Americans. The difference
between Taft and Wood, is that the former is
a politician and a "trimmer," while the latter
is a diplomat and a statesman, and it is to be
hoped that, in American interests, such a man
as Leonard Wood will succeed Taft in the Phil-
ippines, and such a form of government as was

246 As It Is in the Philippines.

founded in Cuba, will succeed the present top-
heavy organization.

In the branches of public work, such as street
cleaning, municipal affairs, etc., there have been
vast improvements in the Philippines, and it has
been mostly in the higher branches of gov-
ernment, where statesmanship was required, that
Governor Taft has shown his lack of executive
ability, and his failure as Governor. The mu-
nicipality of the City of Manila is a model one,
and the Governor is fully entitled to his share
of the credit, with Messrs. Sleeper and McDon-
nell.

The Educational Department has, in the opin-
ion of the author, scarcely come up to the ex-
pectations that were held in regard to it, but that
has probably been not so much the fault of Doc-
tor Atkinson and those under him, as the con-
trol of the teachers by native officials, which
could hardly be avoided. A considerable num-
ber of the teachers scarcely came up to the stand-
ard that Doctor Atkinson would have desired,
and insisted upon, had he personally examined
every applicant for the positions. Still, in the
main, the educational system of the Philippines is
a success.

The judicial system would be a success if it
were laid on a better foundation. If judges were

As It Is in the Philippines. 247

appointed without the power of removal by any
one until sixty-five years of age, it would make
them more independent and less subversive to the
desires of the Commission, or rather the Gov-
ernor, while, if ever a mistaken appointment was
made in the Philippines, it was that of the pres-
ent Attorney-General, who seems more of a harle-
quin than a lawyer. He lacks ability and the
dignity that the position demands, and he em-
barrassed his master, the Governor, very much,
when he notified Judge Odlin that it was his
duty to do a certain thing because it was the
wish of the Commission. There seems no just
reason why trial by jury should not exist, cer-
tainly in the case of white persons, Americans
and foreigners, of whom there is a very large
number in Manila. It would be an easy matter
to draw juries, to hear cases, at all events, where
a man's liberty was at stake.

What the army has done in the Philippines is
too well known to require the author to say much
with regard to it, excepting that all the tales of
brutality that have lately been commented upon in
the press and in Congress, have been greatly ex-
aggerated, and in many cases are pure falsehoods.
In the case of Captain Ryan, of the Fifteenth Cav-
alry, for example, whose court martial was or-
dered, the evidence was such on the part of the

248 As It Is in the Philippines.

prosecution that it was considered by the mili-
tary authorities in the Philippines good policy
to stop the trial after the prosecution had fin-
ished, but it was afterwards deemed advisable
to allow it to continue, with the result, about
which there could have been no question, that the
Captain was acquitted. Much has been said with
regard to the court martial of General Smith
and its result. There is little question that Gen-
eral Smith was indiscreet in his remarks to Major
Waller, but they were uttered on the field of mas-
sacre at Balangiga, with the dead mutilated out
of all recognition lying around. A man may be
pardoned for any remarks made under a moment-
ary impulse of passion.

Major Waller understood that General Smith's
words were not orders in the exact sense, as he
testified on the stand that he did not believe Gen-
eral Smith meant him to kill defenseless men
who were not in arms against the United States,
nor did he do so. He did not suppose for a mo-
ment, that General Smith meant indiscriminately
to kill children or women, but rather those boys
who fought in the ranks as men, and actually
bore arms. There is little question that the cam-
paign in Samar was conducted with firmness and
severity, and with the result that intractable
Samar is the most pacified of all the Provinces,

As It Is in the Philippines. 249

and this was accomplished with comparatively
small loss of life ; but instead of having a statue
erected to him on the Luneta, as the pacificator
of Samar, and being promoted to Major-
Generalship, General Smith finds himself, at
about the close of an honorable career, devoted
for forty odd years to the interests of his coun-
try, in the Civil War, in Indian campaigns, in
Cuba and in the Philippines, doing his duty as
a soldier should, and as he saw it right to do, liv-
ing in retirement, as a monumental example of
a nation's ingratitude.

The chapter on the currency question gives
the opinion held by the author on that subject.
It is the one question that those who have an in-
terest in the welfare of the Philippines should
bring up in Congress at the earliest possible mo-
ment.

What will be the future of the Philippines, is
difficult to foretell at present. Should they be
sold to the Japanese, or should a form of
government be given to them allowing them
to make their own capital under the protection
of the United States, which would hold Manila
and the surrounding country for twenty miles,
with a considerable body of troops stationed in
Manila ? This would seem as good a plan as any.
The Filipinos should be allowed to elect their

250 As It Is in the Philippines.

President. They should not be allowed to keep
an armed body of over seven thousand men,
which should be enough for all police business,
and they should be forced by the United States
to act according- to the laws of nations in their
dealings with foreign governments. If the
United States should continue to keep the Archi-
pelago, a very much stronger and more stable
form of government than exists to-day should
be at once placed in charge.

CHAPTER XX.

A Stranger in Manila Soon Desires to Return Home. —
No Sorrow Felt at Leaving. — Choice of Routes. —
Author Selects Coldest. — Trip by the Canadian Pa-
cific "Empress of Japan." — Hong Kong. — Shanghai.
— Nagasaki. — Kobe. — Yokohama. — Vancouver. — Sal-
mon Canneries. — Lakes in the Clouds. — Magnificent
Banff. — Home.

The first two or three weeks after a man's
arrival in the Philippines, he is impressed with
the difference from the life to which he has been
accustomed in a colder climate, but he does not
feel to any great extent the disagreeableness of
tropical life in Manila. He is vaguely aware that
it is exceedingly warm, not to say hot, that he is
perspiring a great deal more than usual, and that
at the end of a day he feels exhausted, especially
if he has tried much walking. After the first
few days, he has probably got into clothes more
suited to the climate than those in which he came
ashore from the transport or the mercantile

252 As It Is in the Philippines.

steamer that brought him to port. The proba-
bility is, that by this time he experiences the first
of the delights that tickles the Northern sojourner
in the tropics, and has experienced the full effect
of prickly heat, which he adds to by scratching
and rubbing, until at night he is somewhat like
a boiled lobster.

Within a few weeks, a large number of new
arrivals get the usual climatic fever, which, how-
ever, does not last any length of time ; those who
get it become seasoned for a time to the climate.
Unless he is of an exceptional temperament, cer-
tainly before he has been there three months, the
new arrival begins to look forward to the day
when he may go home, and by the time he has
received his first month's pay, if he is working
for the Government and gets it at the rate of 2.12,
when, as a matter of fact, the bank rate is 2.40,
when he has had to pay his bills for the month
in American gold or the bank equivalent, he
begins to wish that the time were ripe for him to
start home immediately — and a good many do
start. If he is one of those that remain, he
plunges into what amusements there are, and
manages to enjoy life probably as much or more
so than he would at home.

Manila is unfortunate in that it has no resorts
where cooling breezes and a higher altitude may

As It Is in the Philippines. 253

be obtained, so that a man can take a run up
on Saturday night, and remain there until
Monday morning, the only place being the hills
of Benguet, to reach which takes some days. Here
there is a sanitarium provided for employees
of the civil government who have had severe ill-
nesses and need recuperation, but during the past
year it has principally been used as a summer
resort for the families of the members of the Com-
mission, while their summer cottages are being
built on the celebrated road on which so much
money has been squandered.

When the fact was made public that members
of the Commission were using the government
sanitarium as their summer residence, it was of-
ficially stated for publication that as there was
practically nobody sick enough to be sent to the
sanitarium, the place was comparatively empty,
and that the Commission had it on the under-
standing that when patients arrived, room should
be found for them. This is doubtless correct
and room would have been found for those sent
by medical authorities, but there was a great deal
of complaint and ill-feeling in the matter among
the Government employees in Manila, many of
whom thought that they would have been sent,
had the place not been occupied for other pur-
poses.

254 As It Is in the Philippines.

Finally a day comes when the foreigner, if he
has escaped the cholera, the plague, dengue fever,
dysentery and the other ills that are liable to take
him off to a better land in that most unhealthy
climate, is able to return to his home, and such
a day finally came to the author. Then arises
the question as to the best method of return.
Some, of course, have to return on transports ;
others, not so fortunate, have to make a choice
of various mercantile lines. The cheapest and
the longest is probably, to take a tramp steamer
from Manila through the Suez Canal to New
York. This takes about seven weeks and costs
from one hundred and twenty to one hundred
and fifty dollars. The Pacific Mail Steamship
Company runs a boat once a month, direct from
Manila to San Francisco, touching at Hong
Kong, Shanghai and Japan, and about ev-
ery ten days from Hong Kong, which can
be reached in forty-eight hours by local
steamers. A Japanese line runs from Hong
Kong to San Francisco, and there is the
Canadian Pacific Railway's Royal Mail Steamship
Line, which runs from Hong Kong to Van-
couver, at intervals of about ten days.

The author, after giving the matter some
thought, and not having any particular prefer-
ence for any line, decided that he had had all

As It Is in the Philippines. 255

tKe hot weather he wanted for a time, so he
chose the coolest route, and took the Canadian
Pacific. On the seventh of July, he steamed out
of Manila Bay on the "Rosetta Maru," unjustly
nicknamed the "Rolling Rosy," a large steamer
that is engaged now solely in the trade between
Hong Kong and Manila. She was formerly,
before being purchased by a Japanese line, the
"Rosetta," belonging to the celebrated English
P. & O. Line, which runs to India, Australia
and China, and other ports in the far East. On
the trip to Hong Kong, she belied her nick-
name, as usual, and the boat came in sight of
the peak some forty-two hours out of Manila,
making the landing two hours later. The
"Rosetta," as a rule, makes the trip in a shorter
time than the majority of boats on that line.
After residing for months in Manila, the trav-
eler arriving at Hong Kong notices and ap-
preciates the difference at once. In Manila,
every restriction seems to be put in the way of
steamers, apparently with the object of discour-
aging them from coming there, whereas, in Hong
Kong, as soon as the doctor has been on board
and found out that there is no infectious disease,
the passengers are at liberty to go ashore im-
mediately, and the ship to commence unloading.
On shore, too, all is different.

256 As It Is in the Philippines.

It would almost seem as though Hong Kong
at present must be undergoing a boom, for large,
tall buildings are going up in every direction.
The hum of business immediately attracts one,
and there seems to be no lack of labor there,
everybody apparently being busy, and the major-
ity having a look of pleasant contentment. June,
July and August are exceedingly hot months in
Hong Kong, hotter even than Manila, but Hong
Kong is blessed in one respect in a way that Ma-
nila is not, having a high hill on the peak of which
a big hotel is built, which gpives one a magnifi-
cent view, and also the certainty of being cool
and comfortable, no matter how hot it may be
below in the city and in the harbor. The ma-
jority of the rich people of Hong Kong have
houses upon the peak, some of them used
only in the summer months.

On the sixteenth of July, the author left by the
"Empress of Japan," one of the fine mail steam-
ers belonging to the Canadian Pacific, on the long
voyage to Vancouver. After a run of some fifty-
nine hours, she anchored at Woosong, where a
steam tug carried those passengers desiring to
spend ten hours in Shanghai, up the river to
that port, about twelve miles away.

Shanghai is one of the most interesting cities
in China, not so much the native portion of the

As It Is in the Philippines. 257

city, which is like any other native Chinese
place, as the foreign residential and business
quarter. Here is a magnificent settlement, con-
sisting of the various concessions under a joint
government elected by the whites themselves, a
club that ranks with any in the Orient, and the
leading hotel, the Astor House, probably the best
in China; at all events, it has that reputation
with people who have stayed there for any length
of time. An American visiting Shanghai should
not fail to call upon Mr. Goodenough, the Consul
General, who always makes Americans feel at
home.

Thirty-six hours from Woosong, early on a
Monday morning, the steamer glided into the
harbor of Nagasaki, where a couple of hours
were occupied by the quarantine officer, exam-
ining the health of each individual passenger
aboard, when, fortunately, all being well, every
one who so desired was allowed to go on shore,
and the ship took on the supply of coal neces-
sary to take her to Vancouver.

Before the advent of Admiral Dewey in Ma-
nila Bay, there were but few Americans except-
ing globe trotters who knew anything concern-
ing the town of Nagasaki. To-day it is person-
ally known to thousands, as every transport go-
ing from the Philippines stays there to coal^

258 As It Is in the Philippines.

There is a United States quartermaster perma-
nently stationed there, and it is the coaHng sta-
tion for all of the transports returning home,
and many going out. Nagasaki has a lovely
bay, and is a most interesting Japanese town.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars have been
spent there for souvenirs and curios alone by
Americans within the last four years. Tortoise
shell work, in particular, is a favorite branch
of industry with the Japanese at that place. The
quaint, narrow streets are interesting, and many
an American has had his first and only expe-
rience in jinricksha riding at that place.

A few hours out from Nagasaki, the steamer
enters the celebrated Inland Sea, at certain points
so narrow that a biscuit can be thrown to the
shore from either side. The whole of the dis-
tance through the Inland Sea is interesting, and
the scenery varied, until one arrives at Kobe,
wdiere a stay of a few hours is made for the pur-
pose of taking on cargo and passengers. Kobe
has the reputation of being the most European
town in Japan, and having the finest buildings
and the largest business houses ; but there is very
little of interest to an observer only there for a
few hours. A twenty-four hours' run brought the
steamer to Yokohama, her last stop before reach-
ing Vancouver. Yokohama is a large, fine town,

As It Is in the Philippines. 259

about half European and half Japanese. There
is a large English colony, a number of Amer-
ican residents, and there is even a Harvard Club,
of which Mr. Knapp, the editor of the "J^P^iiese
Advertiser," is the president, in the city. If the
passenger at this point has time and does not
care much about looking over the city of Yoko-
hama itself, he will do well to take the train to
Tokio, and spend a few hours in the Japanese
capital, all of which he will find time to do in
the twenty-four hours at his disposal.

At noon on the following day the clanging of
bells on board warned all for the shore, and fif-
teen minutes later the ship was speeding on her
long journey, homeward bound, with no possi-
bility of again seeing land until the North Amer-
ican continent was reached. Within twelve hours
of leaving Yokohama, there was no more warm
weather, and overcoats and fires were the or-
der of the day, a very welcome change to those
who had been sweltering under a tropical sun.
In the eleven days between the two ports, every
effort is made to make life as pleasant as pos-
sible for the passengers. There is an excellent
library and reading-room, beautifully lighted and
warmed, which is supplied with chess, checkers,
backgammon, dominoes and cribbage. For those
who prefer a more energetic form of amusement,

260 As It Is in the Philippines.

there are quoits, deck cricket and deck golf, while
the smoking-room generally had its quota of pas-
sengers playing bridge and occasionally a few in-
dulging in the great American game of poker. The
food on board the "Empress of Japan," the au-
thor never has seen surpassed, and he has trav-
eled on most of the principal lines, to different
parts of the globe.

The trip is so pleasant that, much as one desires
to arrive at home, one feels almost a pang of
regret on arriving at Vancouver, that such a
pleasant voyage has come to an end. At Vic-
toria, four hours distant from Vancouver, there
comes on board an agent of the company, who
arranges for berths in a sleeper and all other
facilities that passengers may desire. The author
spent two days in Vancouver, a town of some
thirty thousand inhabitants, but which, until IMay,
1886, was a forest, prior to the Canadian Pacific
Railway deciding to make it their Western ter-
minal. A few years ago, a writer on Vancouver
in one of the magazines, said:

"Bright Queen of the West, sunset doorway
of the Dominion, the vision of what you may be
— what you surely will be — sets even the most
conservative pulse at thrill. Those mountain
peaks shall some day look down upon a great
city, whose streets shall be filled with commerce.

As It Is in the Philippines. 261

whose warehouses shall be stored with wealth,
whose harbors shall be thronged with vessels
discharging the products of nations. All the
gold of the Northlands, the scented treasures
of the Orient, the spices of the Tropics, shall pass
through your open, lion-guarded gateway ; and
the time of the fulfillment of the vision is not
far removed."

This was only a prophecy. To-day that
prophecy has been practically fulfilled. The gold
of the Northland goes through there, the scented
treasures of the Orient and the spices of the
Tropics all pass through its gates. The harbor
is one of the grandest, and presents great op-
portunities to those addicted to the use of the
rod and gun. It is impossible for any one to do
himself justice if he travels to Vancouver with-
out visiting the great salmon fishing industry,
which is practically the world's supply of canned
salmon.

Any one making the journey from Vancouver
to New York, either via Toronto or Montreal,
should certainly stop at two places en route, and
if possible, at more. The Canadian Rockies
abound with the most beautiful spots in the
world, with a scenery that is overwhelming in
its grandeur. Laggan should at all events be
one of the spots at which the traveler should

262 As It Is in the Philippines.

make a break in his journey. He is met at
the station by sure-footed ponies and taken to
the lakes in the clouds, which are famed all over
the world for their beauty. The lakes are hid-
den from view among the most romantic environ-
ments, and their loveliness is impossible to de-
scribe. The best place to stop is the hotel at
Lake Louise, two and a half miles from the sta-
tion, where there are good accommodations. From
there one can ride to Mirror Lake, higher up
in the mountains, and by going up still a little
farther, you come to Lake Agnes, looking down
on Bow Valley and the surrounding country.
Probably the finest place in the world to stop,
where most assuredly no passenger coming
East from Vancouver should fail to get off and
remain a few days, is Banff. With an altitude
of forty-five hundred feet above the level of the
sea, and a hotel unrivaled for beauty and posi-
tion, and a management unequalled on the Amer-
ican continent, it is impossible to mention Banff
without enthusiasm, for what nature has left un-
done, which is very little, human ingenuity has
accomplished. The hotel itself is a marvel of
grandeur, and the Canadian Pacific certainly has
done its best to make good its claim that it
is the finest hotel in the world. The manager,
Mr. Matthews, is an expert in looking after the

As It Is in the Philippines. 263

care of guests, and the service and food is un-
excelled. It has a warm sulphur swimming bath,
and fishing and hunting, both of big and small
game, is within easy access, guides and profes-
sional hunters being obtainable.

Continuing on the journey, then coming down
the Rockies until the prairies are reached one
passes a continuous change of scenery, through
the wheat fields, corn lands and other produce
of the Dominion of Canada. One can travel di-
rect to Montreal on the "Imperial Limited,"
which is a fast train, making the distance from
Vancouver to Montreal in a hundred and ninety-
seven hours. A night's run from Montreal to
New York completes the long journey.

University of Caiifornia

SOUTHERN REGIONAL LIBRARY FACILITY

405 Hilgard Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90024-1388

Return this material to the library

from which it was borrowed.

DS

Bnllft'^-^^"^^ -

6^9 As it is in the
B21a Philippines

A 000 578 717 1

DS
B21a

Uni